


Unmarked

by leoba



Category: Cthulhu Mythos - H. P. Lovecraft, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Allspeak doesn't work (for a while), Alternate Universe - Lovecraft, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/M, Gen, Lovecraftian, Maybe soulmarks aren't all they are cracked up to be, Native American Character(s), Platonic Female/Male Relationships, R'lyehian, Shoggoth, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, The Avengers/Lovecraft crossover everyone has been waiting for, Trope Subversion, mi-go - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-08
Updated: 2015-06-15
Packaged: 2018-03-11 05:07:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 23
Words: 52,773
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3315230
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/leoba/pseuds/leoba
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Darcy doesn't have a soulmark, but maybe that's okay.</p><p>(A story about Darcy Lewis, making her way in a world where those without soulmarks are looked down upon, and where the deities described in the works of H.P. Lovecraft once ruled the earth.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Childhood

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [write love on my skin](https://archiveofourown.org/works/1835587) by [amusewithaview](https://archiveofourown.org/users/amusewithaview/pseuds/amusewithaview). 
  * Inspired by [A Study in Emerald](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/97886) by Neil Gaiman. 
  * Inspired by [So many things written](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/97892) by H. P. Lovecraft. 
  * Inspired by [At the Mountains of Madness](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/105915) by H. P. Lovecraft. 



> So, right. I love a good soulmark story, I swear I do. But I have to admit that there's something a bit creepy about them too. What about free will? What purpose does it serve society for individuals to live their lives knowing that they are destined to be with a specific person (or people) - or that, lacking a soulmark, they are destined to be alone? And of course, where do the darn things come from? How are they determined?
> 
> I am overthinking things, I know. But my overthinking developed into a plot bunny, and you know that when the bunny heads down the rabbit hole all you can do is run after it and hope it doesn't get too weird. 
> 
> This story also gives me a chance to infuse the Marvel Universe with a bit of Lovecraftian mythos, which... well, we'll see how that works.
> 
> [EDIT: I've just posted Chapter 4, and there's already a lot more Mythos in here than I planned on. So I've added some new tags to clarify.]

Darcy Lewis was born without words.

Although girls were usually born already bearing a soulmark, the first words their soulmate would speak to them (since, as it happened, women tended to be paired with older men, and generally people were paired with members of the opposite sex), being born without one wasn't _that_ unusual, so her parents weren't _that_ concerned. When she turned three, they started to worry, but they made an effort to keep their worry from her. By the time she was six and started kindergarten, she knew there was something wrong with her.

Soulmarks were the hot topic of conversation during the first several days of school. Of course it's not polite to inquire after a stranger's soulmark, but expecting politeness from a gaggle of six-year-olds is a fool's errand.

Where's yours?

Can I see it?

Ooo, pretty!

(Or, alternatively, What funny writing!)

Two of her classmates were even joined on the first day of school (it was lucky a teacher was present or else they might not have noticed, given that neither of the children in question could read).

The other students saw her as an oddity. What kind of person doesn't have marks, after all? She asked her parents why she didn't have words, when all the other children did. What could they say? They'd heard of people who didn't have soulmarks, but as far as they knew neither of them had met one. And the stories about the unmarked weren't pleasant. What kind of life is it, without someone to love you, and someone for you to love? Depression, drug abuse, even prostitution - this was what was expected of the unmarked. And although this was unfamiliar terrain for David and Sarah Lewis, they decided quickly that they would do whatever they could to keep their daughter from the expected route.

Midway through Darcy's kindergarten year her family relocated to another state, and her parents lied and they taught her to lie as well. Her soulmark was in a location that modesty forbid displaying. It was innocuous: "Hello, nice to meet you." Nothing special. The only person who would know the truth was the family doctor, and privacy laws forbid the sharing of any personal information. And Darcy's parents held onto hope that eventually a mark would show up. She might just be six years older than her soulmate.

Seven years.

Eight years.

Twelve years.

Eighteen years.

Once the initial deceit was decided, Darcy and her parents didn't talk about it again, at least not regularly. Every six months or so her mother would ask, "Has it come?" And the girl would shake her head, and her mother would try not to show her disappointment.

It is, perhaps, too bad that David and Sarah Lewis didn't speak more openly with their daughter about her predicament, because if they had, she might have told them about her conversation with Harriet Porter.

Harriet (Mrs. Porter to Darcy) had been next-door neighbors to the Lewis family from before Darcy's birth up until they moved. By the time they were packing up the house, the reason for the move was an open secret. Sure, Sarah had a new job - a solid vertical move, a substantial raise, an exciting big city! - but she was poised to make partner at her current job, within the next two years. There was no real reason to leave. But kids talked, and people knew. Including Harriet Porter.

Darcy would never forget the morning the moving truck showed up to pack up her familiar, uncomfortable life. She was unhappy, nervous, and excited, and she wanted her stuffed kitty. Unfortunately by the time she realized she wanted it, the movers had packed all her bedclothes and cozies into a box and loaded it on the truck. No matter how hard she whined, it was clear that no one was going to unpack it for her. As she expressed her disappointment in the front yard, loud enough that people on the next street over could hear her, Harriet Porter came over and spoke quietly with Sarah. "I have just mixed up a batch of sugar cookie dough," she said, "and perhaps Darcy would like to come over and help me cut and decorate them?" Sarah was more than happy to send Darcy for a visit, and that's how Darcy ended up spending several hours with the first unmarked person she would meet, and the only one she would knowingly meet for many more years.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there's chapter one. Making sense so far? My initial thought was to do a one-off but I guess we are looking at multiple chapters after all. I am hoping this will be short and quick (unlike The Palimpsest, which is more like a cruise ship. Speed 2, if you will). And I don't have a beta for this, so all errors are my own.
> 
> EDIT: so after posting this I spent two hours drafting a kick ass chapter two on my iPad, then I put my kid to bed, and when I got back the browser reset and ate my whole chapter (which of course I hadn't saved). So no chapter two tonight, sorry guys.


	2. Harriet Porter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Flashback!

The cookie-making accouterments were laid across the countertop in Mrs. Porter's kitchen: a stack of cookie sheets, wooden rolling pins, cookie cutters in various shapes, containers of colored sugar, sprinkles, "And rainbow stars!" Darcy exclaimed, her eyes wide, and the older woman smiled at her joy. 

Harriet Porter was the unofficial Neighborhood Grandma. He own children were grown and out of the house. Her husband, Elliott, had passed away a few years before (long enough ago that Darcy didn't remember him), and not long after his death she had retired from her career as an elementary school teacher. But even in retirement she maintained an interest in the children around her, and recently she was taking special interest in young Miss Darcy Lewis.

They both took handfuls of dough, and Mrs. Porter showed Darcy how to roll it over a thin layer of flour, to help keep the dough from sticking to the countertop. As they rolled and cut, Mrs. Porter gently questioned her: about school, her friends, her family, and life in general. She was a naturally talkative child, and although she had learned quickly to avoid discussion of soulmarks, that care did not extend to conversation about other topics. She was comfortable, and relaxed, and spoke freely to the older woman.

School was fine. She enjoyed math, and was learning to read, and took great pleasure at examining the large maps that decorated the walls of her classroom.

No, she didn't have many friends, but she was hopeful that she would make ones in her new school.

Her family was wonderful. Her parents, so kind. She loved them, of course.

Life? What did a six-year-old have to say about her life? Life was fine. She loved cats!

(She could have said more, about why exactly she didn't have friends, about her parents worrying, that she expected there was more to life than what she'd experienced, but those were risky directions to take so she kept conversation to the basics.)

Once they had filled four cookie sheets, and Darcy was beginning to attack them with a handful of rainbow sprinkles, Mrs. Porter leaned across the counter and whispered conspiratorially: "Would you like me to tell you a secret?"

Darcy bit her lip and smiled. "A secret. What kind of secret?"

The older woman returned her smile. "A  _secret_ secret. Not very many people know - not even my children know. You would have to promise not to tell. Can you do that, Darcy?"

Now, Darcy's parents had warned her about grown-ups, and secrets, and she knew that if it were something very bad she  _would_ tell them, but she also knew Mrs. Porter, and trusted her, so... "Yes, I can keep a secret. Cross my heart and hope to die. Hope to  _die_!"

Harriet laughed at this and shook her head. "Oh, my dear. I don't think it will come to all that. But thank you, I appreciate what you mean. And so: the secret?" Darcy nodded and held her breath.

"I do not have a soulmark."

Darcy's eyes widened and her mouth dropped open. She was speechless. As she sat at the counter, frozen, her hand full of sprinkles still held before her, Mrs. Porter turned back to the stove to pour more water into her teacup. "Would you like a cup of tea, my dear?" She asked, not turning around.

Darcy didn't reply. She was too absorbed with her own thoughts. She'd never met anyone else without a soulmark, and she'd assumed... well, all sorts of things. But Mrs. Porter... Mrs. Porter was  _normal_.

The woman in question returned to the counter and leaned against it. Darcy had returned to the cookies and was concentrating very hard on arranging the sprinkles on a star-shaped cookie _just so_. Her lips were pressed together in a frown. Mrs. Porter lowered her head to get a better look at the girl's face. "Cat got your tongue?" Darcy swallowed, and slowly replied, without looking up, "Mrs. Porter. May I tell you a secret too?" 

"Of course, young lady. Your secret will be safe with me."

"I don't have a soulmark either." 

Mrs. Porter nodded her head, and said solemnly, "Thank you, Darcy, for telling me that. I am honored to know your secret." The young girl looked up at her, and offered her a small smile. "Mrs. Porter? Can I ask you some questions?" The woman nodded. "Of course, child. Ask me anything you'd like."

Darcy sat up straight and made an attempt to collect her thoughts before opening her mouth. But it was hard. "Okay. You don't have a soulmark. But you got married! How can you get married, if you don't have someone to join?" Mrs. Porter nodded and pushed flour around on the counter with one finger. "Yes, I did get married. And I was married for a long time! Elliott - that was my husband's name - we met, and we fell in love, and we decided to join each other. It's like we were soulmates, only we chose each other, instead of the marks choosing for us. Does that make sense?"

The girl considered her words as she finished placing the sprinkles and picked up the shaker of green sugar. "I guess. But..." she paused to dump a thick layer of green over an olive tree-shaped cookie, "How did you meet? Was he unmarked too? I've never met  _anyone_ except me without words, and Mommy says that almost everyone else in the world has a soulmark." She continued, softly, "That's why I don't have friends. They think I'm weird. Bobby Devon even called me a freak." 

Harriet reached out a hand and set her fingers under Darcy's chin, lifting her head to look her in the eye. Her lower lip was shaking, and tears brimmed in her eyes. The woman spoke softly. "Young lady, please don't cry. Let me tell you another secret, okay?" Darcy didn't react, just continued looking at her. "There are many more unmarked people in the world than you know. In fact, I am sure that I am not the only one you know, right now. Do you believe me?"

Darcy shrugged, and pulled her chin away from Mrs. Porter's fingers. "If there are so many, where  _are_ they?"

The woman gestured to the air with both hands. "We're in all kinds of places. But we hide. You know, it's hard to be unmarked. You know that, right?" Darcy nodded. Harriet tilted her head and considered. She wanted to keep the conversation age-appropriate, and she wasn't sure how much the girl, so young, would understand. But she made a quick decision to move forward. Even if Darcy didn't understand now, the conversation may become more meaningful in the future. "Darcy, have you heard the phrase 'to pass,' or have you talked to your parents about 'passing'? Pretending to have a soulmark when you don't?"

Darcy nodded, set down the green sugar and picked up the stars. "Yeah. They say in our new town, I'll pass. We made up words and everything. People won't think I'm weird any more." "Well, that's why you don't know about us. Many of us, most of us, decide to pass. We make up words, stories about how we met, some of us even get tattoos."

"What's a tattoo?"

"It's like a picture you make on your skin."

"Like you draw with a pen?"

"Kind of, only it doesn't wash off"

Darcy thought about this for a moment. "Do I need to get a tattoo?"

Mrs. Porter shrugged. "Not now. Tattoos are for grown-ups. You might choose to get one, when you're older. But don't worry about that now."

Darcy wasn't really interested in tattoos. She had a much more important question to ask.

"Mrs. Porter, how did you meet your husband? I mean, if you weren't joined... how did you know you were supposed to get married?" The woman smiled at her memory. "Oh Darcy, we didn't know. We met through friends. We were living in New York - that's a very big city, with lots of people - and we both ended up in a group of friends who were mostly unmarked, or who were sympathetic to the unmarked. We met, and we were friends for a long time. We were both seeing other people, but after a while of getting to know each other, we realized that we loved each other."

"You mean you just fell in love?"

"Uh huh."

Darcy's face, which had been pinched and twisted, suddenly relaxed. "Wow. I didn't know you could do that! Fall in love without a soulmate."

Harriet hesitated. She knew she was pushing up to the boundary of Darcy's understanding, but she had one more thing she wanted to tell her. "Young Darcy, can I tell you another  _another_ secret? This is one that everybody knows, but nobody talks about."

The girl smiled at her, dropping a big pile of stars on a cookie already coated with green sugar. "Oops. But sure, I like secrets! Tell me another one."

"The secret is that almost everyone falls in love with someone who is not their soulmate, at least once in their lives. Society frowns on it, but it's common."

This was news to Darcy - she'd never considered romance outside of the boundaries of the marriage of soulmates. "But how does that happen?" 

"Maybe two people will meet before they meet their soulmates. They enjoy each other's company, so they spend time together. They would agree to end the relationship if either meet their soulmate, and that's usually what happens. They'll even remain friends, sometimes. They might not even call what they had love, just friendship. But it might even end up feeling stronger than what they feel for the person they join." (These relationships usually included sex, but Harriet wasn't going to mention that to such a young girl. She would figure that out herself, eventually.)

Darcy worked silently. She felt like her head was full of new information, and she wanted to take time to work through it. She knew she couldn't talk to her parents about it - she was sure they wouldn't understand, and they would probably be angry at Mrs. Porter for talking to her. She'd talk to her stuffed kitty about it, once he was unpacked. He would understand, she was sure.

The cookies went into the oven, then came back out, were cooled and packed away, some for Darcy and some for other children in the neighborhood. They talked about other things: TV shows, Darcy's stuffed menagerie, her favorite foods. Mrs. Porter told Darcy stories about her family, her children when they were younger, and her grandson, who was just a baby. 

And then it was time for Darcy to go. She cried as she hugged Mrs. Porter goodbye, and the woman whispered to her, "You will be fine, Darcy. You'll find your place, and you will be happy. Believe me, okay?" Darcy nodded, and allowed her mother to lead her down the path, to the car, and to a new life.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not nearly as good as the chapter I lost yesterday, but it does the job!
> 
> Harriet and Elliott had tattoos. Hers said, "Who ever loved, that loved not at first sight?" and his said, "Is that Marlowe?" The story they told was that he was reciting Marlowe's "Hero and Leander," and she happened to be there and recognized the line from her soulmark. But it was duplicity, because that's also a quote from Shakespeare's play As You Like It, which is really what the reference means to them. Inworld, Marlowe is popular, mostly on the basis of his soulmate plays, while Shakespeare is relatively unknown, except in the underground of the unmarked. He was a critic of soulmarks, you see, and of the soulmate phenomenon in general. Because reasons, which will come out later in the story. I couldn't figure out how to get this into the story (Darcy doesn't care if Harriet has a tattoo, and she's not just going to show it to her), so I just made this note here.
> 
> I tried to refer to the adult in this chapter as "Mrs. Porter" when it's Darcy's POV and "Harriet" when it's her own, but I'm not sure it worked and I apologize if it was just distracting.
> 
> I also feel like I gotta say that this is happening in it's own little crazy world, so soulmarks and the soulmate relationships here might not work as they do in other stories. Ktx.


	3. Jane Foster, Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Darcy meets Jane.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Super short chapter, but I want to keep this moving.
> 
> I love all your kudos and comments and bookmarks, you guys are keeping me moving. I am a bit worried about this chapter, because it is just starting to hint at the weird. And it's only going to get weirder. With that said, let's go...

Darcy passed. Her life was pretty good, considering. It was painful to see her friends slowly being joined, knowing that it would never happen to her, and not being able to share her pain with anyone. But even so, she was content. She had friends. Not lots of friends, but good ones. In high school she even had a boyfriend. She thought she loved him, but she knew eventually he'd leave her, and when he did it was more painful than she could have imagined. He cried - bawling, apologizing, saying he didn't really want to break up, but: "I have to. She's my soulmate!"

She assured him it was fine. They both knew it was going to happen, right? And he consoled her: she still had her soulmate to meet. That didn't help, but she didn't tell him that.

They didn't speak again after that.

Darcy concentrated on school. She continued to enjoy learning. She still loved math, even though she wasn't very good at it, and she would read anything she could lay her hands on. When she got to college her interest in the world and the people in it had her leaning towards an anthropology major, but in her second year she switched to political science, thinking that might give her a chance to work internationally, or maybe even go on to law school.

One of the great things about Miskatonic University was that all the students were required to have an intensive internship their Junior year. Unfortunately there were never enough good internships to go around, and by the time Darcy realized that her application paperwork had been lost in campus mail all the political science-related internships were spoken for. In fact, there was only one internship left that was even remotely relevant to her interests and skill set: working with an astrophysicist who was "using new instruments to measure the temperature and polarization anisotropy of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) radiation and the Sunyaev-Zeldovich (SZ) effects" (to quote the posting).

When she read said posting, Darcy groaned inwardly. She had no clue what it meant, and was deeply suspicious. It sounded very _practical_ , and practical astronomy was frowned upon even though it tended to be well-funded. No one wanted to risk reawakening an Old One. Well, of course some people did, and they tended to be well-represented in fields such as astronomy, physics, and philosophy. They weren't necessarily cultists, but definitely pushing in that direction. Darcy didn't know the professor, Dr. Jane Foster, but figured she should at least apply and meet her, just in case she wasn't completely off her rocker. She had to admit that spending a semester in New Mexico didn't sound like a bad gig.

Dr. Foster proved to be surprisingly normal, although she emanated nervous energy and tended not to finish her sentences. She asked Darcy about her experience with both qualitative and quantitative data analysis, and was pleased to hear that she had some solid programming skills. She didn't ask Darcy about her own beliefs, or try to make her soulmark a subject of small talk, both of which Darcy took as promising signs. They met late on an afternoon and talked shop for about forty minutes. When Darcy had answered all of Dr. Foster's questions, the professor (a slender, slight woman, looking very youthful in jeans and a lumberjack shirt) finished up the interview by stating, "Well, you have the right skills, the right attitude, and you don't seem to be completely mad. The internship's yours if you want it. Just let me..." At this she turned back to a kind of work table and proceeded to root around under the papers that were strewn across it, her speech devolving into mumbles.

And that's how Darcy Lewis ended up spending three months in Puente Antiguo, New Mexico, chasing storms and researching wormholes with Jane Foster.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you haven't read anything by H. P. Lovecraft, you may be thinking, huh? I feel you. The eldritch horrors will just continue to grow as the story continues, so here's a quick primer:
> 
> Miskatonic University: fictional university featured in many Lovecraftian stories (http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miskatonic_University)
> 
> Great Old Ones: a loose pantheon of ancient, powerful deities from space who once ruled the Earth and who have since fallen into a deathlike sleep (http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cthulhu_Mythos_deities#Great_Old_Ones)
> 
> Cultists: people who worship said deities and, in some instances, work to bring them back (http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cthulhu_Mythos_cults)
> 
> Chapters one and two have really focused on soulmarks, but with this chapter I am shifting us into the Lovecraftian mythos AU. From here on the two AUs should be on equal footing.


	4. Jane Foster, Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bonding.

The women worked well together, and they bonded quickly. Darcy liked Dr. Foster. She was manic, and driven, and genius-level smart, but she was also humble and emotional and very  _human_ , and was willing to listen to Darcy's ideas and take her advice (particularly when that advice involved taking a moment to have a glass of water, or something to eat, or just to sit still for a moment).

The first part of the internship work took place at Miskatonic, and just involved getting up to speed: the various instruments and how to run them, the software associated with each, types of data output, how to log the data, how to analyze it... it was a lot to absorb, but Darcy was smart and resourceful and she caught on quickly. She was only taking one summer class, and Jane wasn't teaching at all to prepare for the Autumn field work, so they spent most of their time together in the basement of West Hall, which housed the Physics and Astronomy departments. Jane didn't seem to be very popular amongst her colleagues, or with students either, so they spent most of their time alone. Dr. Atwood would occasionally come down and pepper Jane with questions (he was preparing for his own field work, an Arctic expedition, and Dr. Foster had meteorological knowledge that was apparently relevant for him), but he was the exception.

By the time September rolled around, the women were ready to go. They would be traveling to New Mexico together, and a few weeks after their arrival Jane's mentor Erik Selvig would be joining them. He was a Professor of Theoretical Astrophysics at Culver University, and was apparently famous for his work on thermonuclear astrophysics. He and Jane would have frequent chats over Skype, and it was through overhearing these chats that Darcy learned of the nature of their work: they were hoping to build an Einstein-Rosen Bridge - a wormhole.

Darcy had to admit that this freaked her out. Presumably it was wormholes that enabled the Great Old Ones (and the Æsir and Jotuns before them) to come to Earth, and although things had worked out in the end she knew that it had also caused great suffering. But humans were resilient, and had built up quite a bunch of interesting cultures for themselves, thankyouverymuch, even _without_ magic, and since the Industrial Revolution had managed to develop some pretty awesome technologies too (Darcy was especially attached to digital music, particularly in the form of her iPod, but she also respected smart phones and the Internet in general). But the more she thought about it, the more it seemed like attempting to open a wormhole out into random space would be a very, very bad idea. The week before they were scheduled to leave for New Mexico, after a long day of data analysis, Darcy took her concerns to her boss.

"I mean, what if you open it up and there's Ammutseba there on the other side. _Oh, hello there! Just let me finish up this star and then I'll chomp on_ ** _you_**. Or Zvilpogghua? Or even Cthulhu himself?"

Jane rolled her eyes at that, and set down the pencil she'd been toying with. "Darcy, Cthulhu is trapped here, on earth, under the ocean. We're not going to get to him using an Einstein-Rosen Bridge." "He's trapped _in another dimension_ ," corrected her intern. "The doorway to it just happens to be under the ocean. You could totally break through to him using a wormhole." Jane smiled and shook her head. "No, Darcy. The Einstein-Rosen Bridge we're building will only work across our dimension. We're being very careful about that. There will be no accidental portals to Old Ones - I promise." She grinned, and added, "So be very precise with your data. We're counting on you to keep us safe from eternal madness."

Darcy sighed. "So, you and Erik aren't secret cultists, intent on the return of the Rule of Cthulhu. Okay then. Why do you want to build this thing, then? What's it for?"

Jane stood and crossed her arms, her eyes shining. "I'll tell you - but not here. I still have a lot more work to do, but you're done, and I'm actually hungry. So let me take you out for some food. Okay?"

They went to The Underground, a comfortable pizza-and-beers joint more popular with townies than with the college crowd. Darcy liked it because it was laid-back and had dartboards; it turned out Jane liked it because she was unlikely to run into people she worked with there. "Don't get me wrong, I like my department," she said as she perused the menu. "But, you know, I like my privacy. I don't need to see them outside of work."

Over a pitcher of Blue Moon and a sausage and mushroom pizza, Jane explained to Darcy her and Erik's practical hopes for the Einstein-Rosen Bridge. "As you know, when the Old Ones won the War of Gods and subjugated Earth, the Æsir were destroyed. But according to some of the lesser chronicles, their world survived." "Asgard." Darcy said, around a mouthful of pizza. Jane took a sip of beer and replied, "Yeah, Asgard. So, the Old Ones didn't subjugate them as they did us, they just killed them all. So when the Restorationists successfully forced the Old Ones back to their sleep, that left Asgard empty. Theoretically, if it's still there. If they didn't destroy it completely."

Darcy washed another mouthful of pizza down with some beer. "Great. So, Asgard is out there somewhere. Do you want to use your wormhole-bridge to get to Asgard? Is that your plan?" Jane grinned, her eyes shining. "That's the plan. I mean, just imagine it: the knowledge of the Æsir, gathering dust on a dead world, just waiting for us to come along and take it. Our technology and knowledge from the Restoration, combined with their magic and their access to Yggdrasil... it would be a powerful combination. We might finally be able to track down the Old Ones where they sleep and destroy them once and for all."

As though realizing where she was, Jane cleared her throat, blushed, and gulped the dredges of her beer. She then folded her hands in front of her and looked straight into Darcy's eyes: "It's good for you to know this, actually, just in case you're sympathetic to the cults. You don't seem to be, but I haven't asked you. This is why I'm not really popular at Miskatonic. They fund me because they see that my work might be useful to them, even though I want to use my work against them. So here's your chance to drop out of the project, if you want to."

Darcy shook her head. "I'm, um, not really a partisan. I'm neutral. The cultists are a bit much, though. So I'm glad to know you're not one. Not that I thought you were. You seem really normal, I mean." Jane smiled as the younger woman rambled along. "Right, normal. Anyway, yes I'm going to stay with the project. And it would be pretty awesome if we could find Asgard, too."

"Great, I'm glad to hear it. And I'm glad to have this out in the open, too. Let's celebrate with another drink!"

As Jane held up her hand to signal the waiter, a man playing darts across the room broke away from his group and walked slowly towards the two girls sitting in the booth by the window. He'd been watching them for a while. They were both very pretty, in different ways, and from the way they were acting with each other he was certain they weren't soulmates. Maybe one of them was  _his_ soulmate. Only one way to find out. If not, maybe they'd let him buy them a drink anyway.

"Hell _ooo_ , ladies." Jane and Darcy looked up to see a guy just a few steps from their booth. Drunk, if his gait was any indication. Darcy suppressed a smile as she imagined him tripping on his shoelace (which was untied) and falling into a pile on the floor. Neither of them said anything, so he kept talking. "What are two lovelies like yourselves doing all alone tonight?" Jane gave him a look that would have withered grass. "We're not  _alone_. We're together." He sighed, and slurred, "Well, _you're_ not my soulmate. Anyway, I haven't seen you here before. You come here often?" Jane crossed her arms. "No, I don't." Darcy piped up, "It's true. She doesn't get out much." Drunk guy turned to look at her. He actually shifted his body, as though he'd forgotten how to move his head. "And _you're_ not my soulmate either. Do, uh, you guys have soulmates? Or are you just looking tonight? Maybe you're ah, _free_?"

Darcy blushed and looked across at Jane. The older woman had turned a violent shade of red, and appeared to be vibrating. But she managed to keep her voice calm. "Look,  _man_ , leave us alone. My soulmate is  _dead_ , okay? Neither of us is looking tonight. Please just go away." Darcy'd never seen her boss angry before, let alone vibratingly angry - Jane looked like she was going to explode, and she needed to get out of there stat. Darcy dug into her bag and pulled out a handful of cash, throwing it on the table to pay for their meal. "Um, I think we need to go. Jane, I got this. Come on." They climbed out of their seats, leaving Drunk guy standing there wondering what had just happened. _  
_

Jane was ahead of Darcy, slamming the door open and almost running down the sidewalk. Darcy had to hurry to catch up with her. She was no longer red, but her face wore a grim expression. Darcy spoke quietly, "Jane, I'm so sorry." Jane stopped and turned around to face her. She looked confused. "Why are you sorry? You didn't do anything." "No, Jane, I mean about your soulmate. I'm so sorry, that must be really tough to deal with." Jane closed her eyes and sighed deeply before speaking. "Darcy... my soulmate isn't dead. That was a lie. I just hate that kind of shit, random guys looking for their soulmates and then making assumptions." The younger woman nodded. "Ah, okay. I just... you've never mentioned anyone. That's all. I didn't know." They looked at each other for a moment, and then it seemed to Darcy as though Jane made a decision.

"Okay, look. I'm going to be straight with you, because why not? I've already told you one thing that might make you run screaming, so why not get them all out of the way. Besides, I'm just sick of..." it was almost as though she were talking to herself, and Darcy was there as an audience to her soliloquy. Jane sighed again. "Look, I don't have a soulmate, okay? And I never will, because I don't have words. I know this is a terrible, awful, thing, and I'm a freak. I'm really okay, I promise. Aside from that I'm totally normal. But I also understand if that's a problem for you. It doesn't bother me if you go, you wouldn't be the first." 

She stood there, looking into Darcy's eyes as though waiting for her to flinch. Darcy didn't flinch - she threw her arms around Jane and burst into tears. Darcy could feel Jane stiffen, and heard her say, "uh, Darcy? What?" After a moment the older woman's arms tentatively pulled around her and Darcy could feel her hand rubbing between her shoulder blades, but all she could do was bawl. She realized Jane was still talking, now whispering in her ear. "Darcy, it's okay. Can you please talk to me? I don't understand." Darcy, shaking, pulled away and wiped her sleeves across her face, realizing as she did so that she was getting snot in her hair.  _Smooth_ , she thought to herself, and she was suddenly very embarrassed.

"I'm sorry, Dr. Foster. I'm so sorry." Jane looked on, her expression an equal mix of mystification and concern. Darcy whispered, "I'm unmarked, too. I pass, I always have since I was a little kid. We just don't talk about it, you know?"

Jane offered her a small smile and nodded. "Yeah, I know. I pass too, mostly, but sometimes I just don't want hide it. I don't want it to be such a big deal."

Darcy dug into her bag, pulled out a wayward napkin and as she proceeded to scrub at her face, she said, "Well, ah, it doesn't have to be a big deal for us now, does it? We can be Secret Team Unmarked Searchers for Asgard. STUSA!"

Jane laughed at that, an honest laugh that brightened up her face. "Uh, I don't know about that. But I'm glad to know about you. Thank you for telling me. I'm guessing you haven't met many other unmarked people?"

Darcy shook her head, and they started walking slowly up the sidewalk. "I haven't. Once, when I was really little. She was amazing, and I think I would have turned out different if I hadn't known her. She was old - well, grandmother old. She seemed ancient, but she was probably in her 60s. Anyway, she told me there are lots of unmarked people, but most of them pass. So I've always believed that I was surrounded by people like me, who were also passing. Like me. It's so lonely, Jane. You and her, you're the only people I know about."

Jane ran her fingers through her hair and looked as though she wished she had a band. "You're friend, she was right. I've known a few. Erik is marked, but he's sympathetic and he's introduced me to some people. Not many, though, and most of them are in Sweden. Sweden's culturally liberal about soulmates, by the way, and more accepting of the unmarked. I've also heard there's an underground in New York, for a long time actually, but I've never met anyone associated with it."

Darcy nodded. "My friend - Mrs. Porter - she met her husband in New York. Said she had a lot of friends there. Maybe that's where I should go, after I graduate. Somewhere I might fit in." She smiled at Jane, "Sweden would be cold, and I don't want to have to learn the language." Jane laughed, and they walked companionably back towards campus.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So we're clearly in a very different world from the Marvel Movie Universe.
> 
> Before you freak out, note that Jane's knowledge of what happened to the Æsir is limited to what's written in a set of chronicles, and then note that both Thor and Loki are named in the tags. She is going to have a bit of a shock next chapter, though, I can tell you that.
> 
> Thanks again for reading! I have to say that I am having a ton of fun writing this. I hope you enjoy reading it (even if you think it's weird).


	5. Thor, Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thor and Erik. But mostly Thor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Your kudos and comments mean so much to me, I am very glad you all are enjoying this story. I hope it continues to please! If this work inspires you to write your own Avengers-Lovecraft crossovers please let me know, I think it's a fun combination and I would like to see what someone else does with it.

The next several weeks began with the excitement of the move and set-up, then segued into a day-to-day existence that was - let's be honest, now - exceedingly boring. 

The arrival of Erik Selvig three weeks into their field work provided a small distraction, and provided some ongoing entertainment. Erik complemented Jane and Darcy, and completed the group - more laid back than Jane, more serious than Darcy. He obviously cared about Jane deeply and helped to keep her grounded. He'd been close friends and colleagues with her father, who had passed away when she was a teenager, and he'd become a sort of father figure to her. She'd listen to him at those times when Darcy just couldn't reach her (when Jane was In The Zone, it was hard to get her to do anything, including eating or sleeping). Darcy liked him immediately; he respected her, taking the time to explain details that Jane would gloss over and answering her questions patiently.

Within a few days of Erik's arrival they fell into a comfortable (although boring) pattern. Every day went as follows: Wake up around noon. Analyze data until evening. Fit in meals somewhere (force-feeding the professor if necessary). At dusk, set out in the van and take whatever measurements the weather or the previous day's measurements suggest. Return to the lab around 3 or 4am. Relax - drink some beers, play some cards. Then sleep. Then repeat it all the next day. It's wasn't terrible, but it wasn't  _exciting_. Nothing ever happened.

Finally, in mid-October, something happened. It was past midnight, and they'd parked the van in what was, as far as Darcy could tell, a completely innocuous square of desert that looked exactly like every other square of desert within 50 square miles. Jane and Erik were standing in the hole cut through the roof, messing around with some equipment, and Jane was trying to convince herself that they were in the right place.

"The anomalies are always precipitated by geomagnetic storms." She pushed over a chart, on which she and Darcy had been tracking them. "The last seventeen occurrences have been predictable to the minute... so there should be one here any time now." She glanced into the sky, and said in a sing-song voice, "Any time now!" A flash of light in the rear-view mirror caught Darcy's eye, and she called out, "Jane, I think I found your anomaly. Behind us!" Without waiting for a response Darcy pushed the van into gear and slammed on the gas, pulling the van in a tight circle and heading towards a collection of what appeared to be clouds high in the atmosphere, glowing blue and pulsing slightly. Erik had dropped back down into the body of the vehicle, but Jane was still hanging out the hole in the roof, clamoring for her video camera. "Oh gods, guys, this is incredible! Darcy, get as close as you can!"

Her intern complied, continuing to drive towards the clouds until suddenly they started to rotate. Within seconds it had developed until a full-blown... "Tornado!" Cried Erik. "Darcy, get us away from here!" "Gladly," she muttered to herself, and turned the wheel to drive them away from the funnel cloud that was rapidly heading towards touchdown. By now Jane had dropped back down into the van, and was in the seat next to Darcy, still recording the proceedings out the window. "No! Don't! We need to get closer so I can take a magnetic reading! This is a big one, this could be the one!" With her camera-holding hand still out the window, Jane reached out and grasped the steering wheel, pulling the van back towards the storm.

Darcy opened her mouth to argue - or swear, or scream, or _something_ \- when two things happened in quick succession. First, a bolt of lightning shot through the funnel cloud, deafening her and causing the van to rock violently. Second, a human shape appeared in the headlights, and Darcy barely had time to hit the breaks before the van whacked into it.

By the time Erik, Jane and Darcy tumbled out, the wind was calm. A person - a large person, almost certainly a man - was lying in the glow of the headlights. Jane turned to Darcy. "Get the first aid kit!" Then she knelt down next to the body, Erik hovering protectively behind her. She put her hand on the man's forehead. He had long blonde hair and a beard and was, she couldn't help but notice, incredibly attractive. She whispered, "Please don't be dead." The man's eyes opened, and Jane sighed in relief. His eyes. His eyes were blue, she noticed. His eyes were looking into her eyes. So blue. Had anyone ever looked at her before? She wasn't certain. 

She attempted a smile. "Hello." His eyebrows pulled together as Darcy appeared over her shoulder.

"Woah, does he need CPR? Because I totally know CPR." Jane closed her eyes. " _Darcy_." The man glanced at Darcy, then behind them, apparently noticing Erik as well. He dragged himself back away from them, then stood shakily, looking around and across the sky. Darcy set down the first aid kit and checked him out. He was tall, at least 6'4" she thought, blonde and beefy. Attractive, if you were into that look (and really, who wasn't?). His clothes were plain, but clean, and a bit light considering how cold New Mexico could get in the night, in the desert. 

Jane looked around, too, following his gaze. "Where did he come from? I don't see a car or anything."

He just stood there. Darcy figured they might as well get a conversation started. She called to him, "Are you alright?"

The man turned and looked at her, then at Jane and Erik. Then he looked into the sky and started shouting. "Well, that's not very promising," mumbled Darcy to herself. He had an accent - clearly this guy wasn't a native New Mexican. Or even a New Worlder. He shouted one word, again and again. Jane scooted herself closer to Erik. "Erik, is he saying  _Heimdall_?" Erik just nodded, not taking his eyes off of him. Jane stared. Darcy was confused.

The man paused for a moment. Then shouted something else, while holding his hand out in front of him. It sounded like... "Mewmew? Guys, is he saying  _mewmew_?" Jane's mouth had fallen open, and Erik shook his head. "No. I think he's saying  _Mjolnir_." Darcy swallowed. " _Mjolnir_. Like the hammer?" Erik nodded slowly, still keeping his eyes on the man. "Like the hammer." Darcy blinked. This guy was deranged.

Darcy had been holding her flash light to the man, but now she reached into her pocket for her taser. This guy was clearly unhinged, and although he hadn't made any violent overtures to them yet, she figured it was better to be safe than sorry. He shouted a few more times, gibberish aside from _Heimdall_ and  _Mjorlir_ (and...  _Bifrost_? She thought maybe he said  _Bifrost_ ). He stopped shouting and rubbed his hands across his face, looking dejected. After a moment he looked up and saw them. It seems he'd forgotten they were there. He took a step forward, and Darcy held up her hand and gripped the taser more tightly. 

The man pointed at them and said something Darcy couldn't understand. He said it again, then gestured around them. From the inflection of his voice, it sounded like he was asking a question. Then he said - she was pretty sure he said - " _Alfheim? Nornheim?_ " Darcy knew those names. They were branches of Yggdrasil, which used to connect the Nine Worlds. During the War of Gods, Earth had been cut from Yggdrasil. Presumably the other branches had suffered the same fate as Asgard.

Darcy ventured a glance at her colleagues. Jane was still staring at the man, mouth agape. Erik was frowning at him, but as she watched he took a step forward, gestured himself, and said, " _Midgard_." 

At Erik's word, the man's demeanor changed entirely. His whole face expanded: eyebrows shot up, eyes gaped, mouth opened in a wide grimace, like a fissure across his face. He threw his hands over his head and started screaming. He was screaming and gibbering and then he started flailing around. Darcy thought there might have been some words in there, but she couldn't be sure exactly because she couldn't understand what he was saying. 

Anyway, he was nuts and getting nuttier by the second. What could they do? Darcy did the only thing she could: She tased him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I gotta admit that I had a ton of fun writing this chapter.
> 
> I will add some notes when I am off my phone but I wanted to go ahead and post this.
> 
> EDIT: So I have a minute to answer some comments (thank you so much I love them all!) and write a few notes.
> 
> So, we're into the first Thor movie now, if you didn't notice :-) From here we'll be sticking to canon in very (very very) broad strokes. Clearly Allspeak isn't a thing (or isn't a thing that is working right now), so there will be some communication issues for the next couple chapters at least. It complicates things, but it also gives me a chance to investigate just how much Erik and Jane (and Darcy, to a lesser extent) really know about what happened with the War of Gods. I'll wait for the next chapter or so to say more about that.
> 
> One last thing: I initially envisioned this as a single long chapter story. It's obviously expanded from that. I do hope it doesn't become one of those that just goes on and on - I do expect this to get back to Darcy's dilemma (and her dealings with the various men she has yet to come into contact with) fairly soon. But the current chapters and the few to follow are really helpful, I hope, in setting up the world.
> 
> ANYWAY enough of my yammering, thanks again for reading!


	6. Thor Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Weighing the evidence.

Thirty minutes later they were all back in the van. The man from the storm was still out cold. They'd barely managed to haul him into the back of the van, he was a big guy but seemed even heavier than he should have been.

They'd argued about what to do with him, standing at the back of the van, the man's feet sticking awkwardly out from under a blanket they'd placed over him to keep him warm. There wasn't a vehicle anywhere near, that they could see, so it wasn't clear how he'd got so far outside of town. It was cold at night, and although his clothes were nice (no tags - homemade, and fine fabric too) they weren't appropriate. They also weren't as dusty as they should have been. 

Darcy hadn't understood anything he said, aside from those few names she recognized from 11th grade World History: Heimdall, the all-seeing sentry of Asgard who held the key to the Bifrost; the Bifrost itself, the rainbow bridge that used to connect the Nine Worlds of Yggdrasil; Alfheim and Nornheim, former sister worlds of Midgard; and Mjolnir, the hammer of Thor. According to the chronicles Thor had fought bravely in the War of Gods, but in the end had been defeated. He had fallen along with Heimdall, Sif, the three warriors, and the Allfather himself. All of Asgard had been pulled into the dark abyss, in punishment for their resistance. Midgard alone had been shielded from the wrath of the Old Ones, allowed to live, to worship their pantheon.

Erik insisted that the man had been speaking the language of Asgard. He'd never heard it spoken proficiently - "It's a dead language, Darcy. No one speaks it anymore." - but he'd read bits of it in the chronicles. "Mostly spells," he explained, "or bits of spells. Of no use to us, really, but they are interesting historically. And, you know, if we were successful in reaching Asgard..." He'd trailed off. 

Darcy was certain he was mentally unstable and had probably escaped from somewhere. Jane wasn't convinced. "Darcy, there's no mental institution anywhere nearby, the closest one is probably in Albuquerque. He couldn't walk from there." "Well, maybe he's a rich crazy guy. Or his family is rich - his clothes are really nice. Maybe they keep him locked in the basement, and he managed to escape tonight and it's just a weird coincidence that he wandered in front of our van. During a geomagnetic storm." Jane sighed and replied, "Well, we need to get him away from here, someplace more secure. I don't want to think about what he'll be like when he wakes up. Darcy," she said, handing her a small glass jar, "get some of the dirt in here, from where the storm touched down. Then we'll go."

Darcy'd noticed the pattern in the dirt when she leaned down to take the sample. "Uh, Jane? Erik? You guys need to see this." There was a huge circle, at least 20 feet in diameter, where the funnel had touched down (and where they'd found the man). It wasn't hard to see, once they knew it was there. The scientists both grabbed flash lights, and quickly walked around the circumference of the circle. Jane spoke first. "Erik," she held out her hand and he grabbed it. "Is it? It can't be, can it?" As she'd been most of the evening, Darcy was confused. "Guys, what do you think this is? Some kind of effect of the storm?"

Erik shook his head and cleared his throat. "We think it's the symbol of the Bifrost. It certainly looks like how it's described in the chronicles: a large circle, filled with a pattern of knots, representing the connections between the various branches of Yggdrasil." He kept shaking his head. "But that's not possible."

Jane - logical, science-minded Jane - started pacing. "Okay, guys. Evidence. One, the storm. I need to analyze them further, but the initial readings were amazing. If I were to build an Einstein-Rosen Bridge, I'd want it to have those readings. And, the symbol on the ground? That's quite a coincidence. Two. Guy appears seemingly out of nowhere in the middle of the storm. We can't figure out how else he could have got there. Right. Three. Guy calls out in what we believe to be the Asgardian language, and what he's calling makes sense given his situation if we assume he came down through the Bifrost. He'd want to appeal to Heimdall to reopen it. Right? Okay, Four. I'm on Four?" Erik nodded. "Okay, we're pretty sure he asked where he was. In any case you, Erik, told him we're on Midgard. And then..." She bit her lip. "He freaked the fuck out," Darcy finished, helpfully. Jane nodded slowly. "Yes. I think that about sums it up." Darcy knitted her brow. "But how is that evidence? Sorry, the other things do point away from random crazy dude, but that's kind of classic mental behavior." Jane sighed and looked away from the younger woman. "I'm still working on that. But trust me, Darcy, it's evidence. Okay?" Darcy shrugged. "Okay."

Jane turned to Erik. "When he was screaming, just before Darcy tased him," ("He was freaking me out!") "I think he was screaming words, but I couldn't make them out. Was there anything in there you understood?" Erik rubbed his hands together and shook his head. "No, I'm sorry Jane. I was so shocked, and he was very," he hesitated, trying the think of the right words. "Screamy," finished Darcy. "He was loud. And, you know, terrified." She shivered. "I've never seen anyone look or sound like that before." Jane and Erik exchanged a glance, but didn't say anything.

Jane reached over and took the jar from Darcy, exchanging it for her flashlight, and rolled the jar between her hands while she stared down at the circle. Erik said, "Jane, you forgot five." "I didn't forget five, I'm trying to ignore it." Darcy looked back and forth between them. "What's five?" Jane offered her a small smile. "He means Mjolnir. This man, he called for Mjolnir. Come on, you know your history. Who's the only Æsir who calls for the mighty hammer?" Darcy's eyes widened in understanding. "Oh shit, guys. You mean Thor, right? Hammer-wielder." Erik nodded: "God of the Storm." Jane gazed into the sky: "Protector of men." They all turned slowly and looked in at the man lying on the floor of the van. His hair was a mess, and he was drooling out the right corner of his mouth. Without further word they slammed the doors shut, clamored into the van, and headed back to the lab.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wouldn't it be funny if Darcy were right, and he is just a guy who thinks he's Thor and happened to be in the right place at the right time? I'm not going to do that, but it would be kind of funny.
> 
> Also, I know some people are sensitive about terminology used to describe the mentally ill. I apologize if Darcy's language is offensive, but she's just not really mindful.


	7. Communication

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Italics are either internal thoughts, or non-English language, or both :-)

During the hour-long drive Jane, Erik, and Darcy concocted a plan, setting it in motion as soon as they arrived back at the lab. They had to work quickly, as they didn't know how long their visitor would stay unconscious. 

The lab was in an old auto showroom, on the very edge of the commercial side of Puente Antiguo. Darcy and Erik were renting rooms in a bed and breakfast several blocks away, and Jane slept in a small trailer across the parking lot, but there was a metal cot in the back room for those times when they just had to crash. They dragged it out to the van, rolled the man onto it, and dragged it back inside, Darcy securing his wrists to the frame using a few heavy-duty zip ties. She wasn't sure they'd do any good, but it made her feel better. Jane and Erik grabbed a couple of laptops, a big stack of notecards, and all of Jane's books that mentioned Asgard, the Æsir, or the War of Gods. Erik was apologetic. "I would have brought my library, if I'd known it would come in handy, but how was I to know?" Jane assured him it was fine: "We have the whole Internet at our fingertips!"

Darcy was still uncertain about the whole random-crazy-dude-from-the-desert-who-is-really-Thor thing. She was willing to go along with the others, because they were obviously convinced and she didn't have a very good alternative to offer (she had to admit her suggestion that he was being held captive by his wealthy family wasn't entirely convincing). So she half-heartedly set to logging the storm data. She started by plugging all the instruments into their respective slots, downloading everything onto the server. Then she plugged in Jane's video camera to download the footage of the storm. She watched it after the file transferred, curious to see if the video might show something they'd missed at the time. It had been a bit chaotic to say the least.

It was at the moment when the lightning struck that Darcy first noticed something at the corner of the screen. She zoomed in and watched it over and over, adjusting the settings, before she was sure of what she was seeing. She looked over at Erik at Jane, sitting in the middle of the floor, notecards and books strewn around. "Guys? I hate to interrupt, but you need to see this. I..." she swallowed thickly. "I think you're right."

At the moment of the lightning bolt, there was a spot that shot down the length of the funnel cloud. A longish spot, in the shape of a human. Very clearly in the shape of a human.

Erik and Jane watched the footage, nodded their heads, and got back on the floor. Darcy felt too overwhelmed and light-headed to do anything more with the data. She had more practical matters to attend to. First, she cut the zip ties holding the wrists of the man she was now pretty sure was Thor from the cot frame. Second, wishing she had more artistic talent, she found a multi-pack of whiteboard markers and set to work.  _  
_

* * *

Thor was dreaming.

He was on Jotenheim, doing battle with the frost giants, with Sif and the Warriors Three, and Loki. Odin came for them and took them back to Asgard. Fandral was injured, and Odin sent Heimdall to escort them all to the healing chambers. But not Thor. Thor and Odin argued. Thor called him a fool. Odin, his father, the Allfather. Unforgivable words. Thor shuddered in his sleep. Odin took Thor's armor, and Mjolnir. Then sent him... where?

His dream shifted. There were... eyes. Brown eyes. Beautiful eyes in a beautiful face. Curious. Kind. Then there were other people. They were small. Where  _was_ he? It was dark, and cold. He called for Heimdall, for Mjolnir. Nothing. Just the darkness, and the brown eyes, and... the sky. An unfamiliar sky.  _Where_? A man spoke.

Midgard.

 _Midgard_.

Deserted Midgard. Abandoned to the Old Ones, to madness and horror and eternal darkness. A branch of Yggdrasil, chopped off in order to save the rest of the tree. Thor's own branch, and he couldn't save it. 

He tipped over into hysteria.

He awoke suddenly, scrambling up on... some kind of table, or maybe a bed. Hysteria threatened him again, but the brown eyes were there to hold him steady. It was light, now, the dim bright yellow light of dawn streaming in through a wall of windows. The owner of the eyes, a small woman with dark hair, held up a hand, and said,

" _Greetings, Thor, Protector of Men_." _  
_

Her greeting stopped him cold. She was clearly not under the influence of the Old Ones. In fact she was speaking the formal language of Asgard. She knew who he was, and she called him by a title long forgotten, now tinged with shame. The woman pressed a hand against her chest, and said, " _I am Jayn_." He repeated: " _Jayn_." She smiled wider and nodded, and glanced over at another person sitting at the end of the bed. Another woman, younger and taller than the first, with frames around her eyes. She said, " _I am Darsee_." He repeated: " _Darsee_." Then an older man, standing in front of the windows. The sunlight shining through the dust around him gave him the appearance of an halo. He said, " _I am Erik_." Thor repeated: " _Erik_ ," then went around the room again: " _Jayn. Darsee. Erik_." The one with the eyes -  _Jayn_  - bit her lip and nodded. Thor raised his hand to his chest and said, " _I am Thor_." Although they obviously knew this, it seemed polite to introduce himself formally.

He looked more closely at  _Jayn_ , and noticed that she held a pile of cards in her hands. Glancing around the room, for the first time he noticed a large sign at the end of the bed. On the sign was written in enormous (though messy) block letters, _WELCOME TO MIDGARD PRINCE THOR_. Around the letters were drawings of a stick figure with wings on its head, wielding a hammer, in various situations appearing to be pulled from stories about himself: stick-figure Thor fishing, receiving the hammer from Sindri and Brokkr, battling Jotens, battling Cthulhu, even stick-figure Thor dressed as Freyja. This last one made Thor smile.  _Darsee_  caught his eye and grinned, saying something he couldn't understand. Why couldn't he understand?

He turned to  _Jayn_. " _Am I truly on Midgard?_ " She knitted her brow and looked at the man by the man at the window, as if for support, then started shuffling her cards. She pulled one out and handed it to him. It said:

 _Man rules now where They ruled once_. _The Old Ones sleep_.

While he contemplated the card, she handed him another one. This one was not written in the language of the Asgardians, but instead in R'lyehian, the dark language of Cthulhu:

 _Ph’nglui mglw’nafh Cthulhu R’lyeh wgah’nagl fhtagn_ : In his house at R’lyeh dead Cthulhu waits dreaming.

Thor's breath caught in his chest. The Old Ones sleep. They no longer ruled Midgard. The humans, cut off from Yggdrasil, abandoned by Asgard, had somehow managed to fight them back. By themselves. Thor was overwhelmed: with the kindness of these human strangers who welcomed him even knowing what he'd done; with questions of the past; and with his own shame. Oh, his shame. He carefully set down the cards, raised his hands to his face, and wept. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What a downer! But it was fun to get a bit of Thor's POV. There's still some confusion with regard to who knows what, but that will get sorted out soon.
> 
> Just for fun, here's my favorite artistic representation of Cthulhu, by tegehel at DefiantArt. It's modeled on "The Giant", a painting by N.C. Wyeth. The image links to the artist page.
> 
> [](http://tegehel.deviantart.com/art/The-Giant-Cthulhu-17872358)  
> 
> 
> In my head Erik and Darcy are staying at Leena's Bed and Breakfast, just because I think it would be fun.
> 
> Text notes:
> 
> The text on the first card is part of a quote from The Dunwich Horror, combined with my own words. Here's the full quote: "Man rules now where They ruled once; They shall soon rule where man rules now. After summer is winter, and after winter summer. They wait patient and potent, for here shall They reign again."
> 
> The second quote, the one in R'lyehian, is from The Call of Cthulhu.


	8. SHIELD

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 204 Kudos and over 3600 hits... I'm so humbled by the response to this. So here's another chapter!
> 
> EDIT: On March 14, 2015, I'm editing this to include Jasper Sitwell, who I only remembered was present at Puente Antiguo when I rewatched the movie last week. Sitwell is fun, and I want to include him later, so here we go.

Thor's breakdown had been a bit of a downer, to be honest. Jane had been thrilled with how well it had gone up to that point. They'd all agreed that removing the zip ties was a good idea, but Darcy'd charged the taser, just in case, and Erik turned up a pistol (neither women asked, and he didn't explain). But the presumed god had taken things in stride, up until they'd told him that the Old Ones were defeated. They thought he'd be happy; tears of sorrow were a surprise.

It's hard to comfort someone when you can't really communicate, but hugs and food can get you a surprisingly long way. By mid-morning Thor was lounging on the rickety sofa in the corner of the lab, hip-to-hip with Jane on one side and Erik on the other (the Æsir prince was surprisingly easygoing when it came to personal space) and Darcy had been sent out to the grocery to restock. Thor'd eaten almost everything in the kitchen. He'd even tried the coffee grounds, to Darcy's great amusement. 

The three were trying to expand their shared vocabulary, with limited luck. The books in Jane's collection contained only the most basic scraps of Asgardian language, and not much of that was practical. It had been enough to get through introductions, and to piece together the message about the Old Ones. (The R'lyehian phrase was a shot in the dark, but apparently he'd understood it.) But more basic phrases - _Are you hungry_ , _would you like to change your clothes_ , _please don't pee on the cactus_ \- were communicated not through spoken words, but through a combination of pantomime and shouting. There was no chance that their real questions - _where have you been for the past thousand years_ , for example - were going to be understood. He had started to imitate them - waving and shouting "Bye!" to Darcy as she left for the store, for example, which they all found pretty amusing. The three were passing books back and forth, along with Jane's tablet which was open to a website that promised an Asgardian-English-Asgardian phrase translator. It was lacking. Their English phrases resulted in nothing more than curious looks from Thor. He typed in Asgardian phrases, but the automated English translations weren't relevant or didn't make sense. When he finally typed in a phrase that the site translated as "my hovercraft is full of eels," Jane took it away from him and shut the thing down.

When Darcy arrived with the groceries and a stack of takeout pizzas, Jane was more than ready to take a break. The intern set the pizzas on the dining table along with a stack of paper plates. Thor sniffed at a pepperoni and mushroom with suspicion before proceeding to devour it. "Hey you!" Darcy cried out and smacked his shoulder, "That's my favorite! Save a slice for me!" The blonde god nodded and shouted something around the pizza in his mouth before grabbing another slice. She reached over him and took a slice herself, grumbling, "Good grief, what a pig."  

The others had just gotten started on lunch when there was a knock on the glass doors of the lab, immediately opened by four people, three men wearing black suits and a woman in black trousers and a totally kick-ass form-fitting leather coat. They were all wearing sunglasses. Darcy regarded them curiously, while Erik and Jane stood up, Erik mumbling "goddammit" under his breath. "Can I help you?" Jane called out, as she walked towards them. Darcy glanced at Thor. He was still stuffing his face, and hadn't seemed to notice the interruption.

The person leading the pack, an average-looking middle-aged guy with a grim expression, pulled off his sunglasses and nodded in greeting. "Dr. Selvig."

The older man approached him slowly, reaching out to shake his hand. "Agent Philip Coulson. I should have known you wouldn't be too far away." He gestured to the others. "This is Dr. Jane Foster, her assistant Darcy Lewis, and ... my nephew. He's visiting. From ... Sweden." The man - Agent Coulson - looked at each of them in turn, raising an eyebrow at Thor. "Your nephew..." he obviously wanted a name. Erik opened his mouth to answer, and Darcy piped up, "Donald. Selvig." Coulson repeated: "Donald." Erik smiled nervously. "Donald Duck is very popular in Sweden."

Coulson nodded. "Okay. We need to talk to you and Dr. Foster for a few minutes. If you don't mind." He glanced around the room. "Somewhere private." Jane bundled Coulson and the two other male agents into the back room. The woman, who managed to look both bored out of her gourd and completely terrifying, stayed behind in the main room with Thor and Darcy. Darcy's attempts to engage her in small talk were not successful, and she refused when offered a slice of pizza, so Darcy and Thor kept eating in silence until the group came out of the back room 15 minutes later.

"Thanks for your assistance, Dr. Selvig, Dr. Foster." said Agent Coulson, shaking their hands in turn. "You're welcome, Agent." Erik replied. "I'm sorry we can't help you more right now, but we'll see what we come up with by tomorrow." The agents all made to leave, Agent Coulson turning at the door, raising his hand and calling, " _Avsked_ , Donald.  _Njut av ditt besök_." [Swedish: Farewell, Donald. Enjoy your visit.] Thor raised his hand: "Bye!" Colson nodded, then walked out the door with the other three in tow. Jane let out a breath she hadn't even realized she'd been holding.

She and Erik returned to the table, Erik sighing and Jane setting her elbows on the table and her head in her hands. Darcy set plates before both of them. "Here. Eat. Then, tell me what the hell that was about. Agents? Agents for what? I tried to ask Agent Scarypants out here but she was not talking. Like trying to have a conversation with a brick wall. It made me uncomfortable." She glanced at Thor, who had finally stopped eating and was wiping a sleeve across his mouth. "She kept looking at Thor, and he ate the entire time you guys were in there. I got so nervous, I told her he has a metabolic condition. She hadn't even said anything."

Erik pushed at the plate but didn't move to eat. "That was Coulson, Yazzie, Sitwell, and May. Melinda May was the one who stayed out here with you, she and Jasper Sitwell I know of, but I don't know their specializations. Carl Yazzie I hadn't met before, apparently he's local. Philip Coulson is Assistant Director of SHIELD. Have you heard of SHIELD?" Darcy shook her head. "No, you shouldn't have. It's covert. Supposed to stand for Strategic Homeland Intervention, Espionage... er, maybe it's Enforcement, and ... something Division. Doesn't matter. What it is is the international collaboration that claims to continue the work of the the Restorationists. These days that means keeping an eye on the cults, and developing new technologies in anticipation of the return of the Old Ones."

Thor perked up at the mention of the Old Ones - one term he had picked up during the morning's work. Darcy bit her thumbnail, then spoke. "That's good, right? They're on our side. What did they want?" Jane lifted her head and laughed humorlessly. "We're on the same side, that doesn't mean they're on our side. They like to be in control, and I've been trying to stay off of their radar. I certainly didn't expect to see them around here." She picked a piece of pepperoni off her cold pizza and eyed Darcy. "You'll be interested to hear what they had to say, though." Darcy raised her eyebrows. "Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. Apparently this guy wasn't the only thing that fell out of the sky last night. There was also a meteor, about 50 miles west of where he came down." Darcy nodded. "Oh yeah, I heard some guys talking about it at the pizza place. They were having some kind of party, I guess it was really heavy and a bunch of the good old boys were taking turns trying to move it." She shook her head and laughed. "What a bunch of assholes."

Erik tilted his head. "Did these people happen to mention the shape of the meteor?" Darcy shrugged, "If they did I didn't pay attention."

Jane leaned forward and whispered: "It's in the shape of a H-A-M-M-E-R," spelling out the word as though it mattered.

Darcy's eyes went wide. "Oh, shit. Wow. Hm."

"Hmmm indeed," replied Erik. "They want us to consult. How convenient, two astrophysicists who are also well-read about the Æsir just happen to be doing research right around the corner. Why not bring us in to have a look?"

Thor stood up from the table and headed back to the sofa. The three others watched as he started digging through the books again. "You didn't tell them about Thor, I guess?" Darcy asked. Jane shook her head. "No way. But it doesn't  _matter_ because they already  _know_." She rubbed her hands across her face and sighed. Darcy knitted her brow. "How would they know?" _  
_

Erik answered her quietly. "Because they know things. Coulson referred to the thing in the desert as 'a hammer-shaped meteor,' but he showed us photos. It's clearly a metal hammer with a leather-wrapped handle. You can see the runes. It even has a wrist strap, for gods sakes. It looks like every painting of Mjolnir you've ever seen in any history book. There's no way they don't know what it is. And although I suspect they didn't arrive until after it landed, I know they're going to be suspicious about us, and our work. That hammer, turning up near where we are, it's too much to be a coincidence."

Jane continued. "They're going to be contacting Miskatonic and Culver to see what they can find out about our current research proposals. They'll also be checking up on us. They already know about Erik, and me too despite my best efforts, but they'll be checking up on you, Darcy, and also on  _Donald_." Darcy looked back over at Thor and swallowed.

"They've asked us to come out to the meteor landing site tomorrow afternoon," Erik muttered. "That gives us about 24 hours to figure out some way to tell Thor what's going on, and to come up with a plan." "A plan for what?" Darcy asked. Jane sighed. "I don't even know."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey hey hey, Melinda May! And Coulson... but y'all knew he'd be showing up eventually ;-) Carl Yazzie is an original character (my first, yikes!), and his name is a total shout-out to Darcy and Jane's (and Loki and Thor's) next-door neighbor in the amazing and wonderful [A Morbid Taste for Ice](http://archiveofourown.org/works/599110/chapters/1080787), which is the story that got me into Tasertricks (and you should read it if you haven't).
> 
> And Donald Duck is, in fact, [popular in Sweden](http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/culturebox/2009/12/nordic_quack.html).
> 
> Next chapter's going to be exciting!


	9. War of Gods

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jane finds out what really happened at the end of the War of Gods.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I knew that this chapter would take a bit longer than usual, I wanted to do some research to make sure I get some details right, but then my kid brought home a stomach bug that laid me out from Wednesday until Sunday. So I haven't had a chance to think much about this chapter let alone write it. I'm feeling all better now (yay!), so here we go.

"Do you think he's your soulmate?" 

Jane was rinsing coffee cups in the sink when her intern appeared suddenly beside her. She had been deep in reverie, and Darcy's question had thrown her. She sputtered. "What? No. Him? You mean the Norse God, I assume? No. Darcy, no. I have no soulmate. You know that."

The younger woman shrugged and leaned against the counter, glancing over at the man in question, who was back on the sofa next to Erik. He appeared to be absorbed in a large book open on his knees, while the TV played afternoon soaps quietly nearby. She whispered conspiratorially: "Come on, Jane. I've seen how he looks at you, all adoringly and stuff. You know what I mean. You look at him the same way."

Jane sighed, placed a cup in the drainer board, and whispered back. "He's attractive. But that doesn't mean anything. It's entirely possible to be attracted to someone who isn't your soulmate. Right?"

Darcy crossed her arms. "Riiiiight. Look, just because you don't have a soulmark doesn't mean you don't have a soulmate. I've been thinking about this. What if they have a different way for determining soulmates?" Jane made to interrupt, but Darcy plowed on. "Seriously, listen. You've never read anything about how the Æsir do soulmates, have you?" Jane shook her head. "I did some googling overnight. There's nothing online, so who knows? Maybe you have matching moles or something. Or, I don't know. Something in your teeth?"

Jane crossed her own arms and regarded Darcy incredulously. "You seriously think the greatest civilization in the history of the universe base their everlasting partnerships on skin growth and dental work? You are ridiculous. This conversation is  _over_." She stalked across the room to her desk, while Darcy remained by the sink and surreptitiously watched the guys on the sofa.

Erik was relaxed, his feet on the coffee table, absorbed in whatever was on the tablet in his hands. Thor still had the book on his lap, but his attention was now on the television. He'd been pretty relaxed about their technology, Darcy thought, although none of it would have been around the last time he'd been to Midgard. She figured that with whatever magic they had on Asgard, Midgardian tech was probably small beans and easy to figure out. He did seem interested in the show, though, which seemed strange since he couldn't really understand what was going on. But as Darcy watched him over the next minute, Thor started to become visibly agitated. She walked over and sat down next to him, setting a hand on his arm. "Hey, Thor, are you okay?" She glanced at the TV - she didn't know which soap it was, but one of the female characters had apparently just revealed her hidden soulmark, proving herself to be the true soulmate of the wealthy oldest brother - or something? But Thor seemed to be quite taken with it. He took Darcy's hand from his arm and proceeded to push her sleeve up to her elbow. She pulled it away: "Hey, don't do that! What's that about? And why are you watching this shit anyway?"

Erik sat up straight and set down the tablet. "I like the background noise, and the stories can be entertaining. What's going on?" Darcy answered, "The show is bothering Thor, and he's acting weird." Turning back to Thor, Darcy grabbed his shoulders and turned him towards her, looking him in the face. "Come on, Thor, calm down."  She tried to look supportive, and he did look down at her, but with an expression of bewilderment. He said: "Soulmark?"

Darcy nodded. "Soulmark. It's, um, how we know our soulmates. Not that you know what I'm saying. Okay." She stood and walked over to the wall of the lab where the whiteboard had been left at the end of the cot, and rolled it over to where they were sitting. She erased one half of the board and picked up a marker. This is what she drew: 

 

She turned back to him. "It's like, Erik speaks the words on my arm, my soulmark," she put her hand on her arm, "and I speak the words on Erik's leg, his soulmark," she pointed at Erik's leg, "and then we're in love and get married. Do you get it? Soulmarks are how we know our soulmates." Thor glanced back and forth between the two Midgardians. "Erik Darcy soulmate?" 

Darcy laughed, waving her hands. "Ah, no no no no. We're not soulmates. Just an example. Bad example. Um, I don't have a soulmate. No soulmate." "Darcy no soulmate?" She shook her head. "Nope. No soulmark, no soulmate." Erik chuckled. "Come on, I'm not that bad."

Thor turned to Erik. "Erik soulmate?" Erik nodded. "Yes, for many years. But she's in Sweden." Thor nodded too, then asked, "Erik soulmark?" Erik unbuttoned the top buttons of his shirt, then pulled his undershirt down to expose the writing just below his collarbone. Thor seemed satisfied by that. "Jane soulmark?" Darcy shook her head at that. "No, Thor. Jane doesn't have a soulmark either. Jane no soulmate." She smiled up at him sweetly. "Unless you're her soulmate? Thor Jane soulmate?"

Thor craned his neck to look at Jane, who was still at her desk and completely oblivious to their conversation. "No. Thor Jane no soulmate. Thor no soulmate. Asgard no soulmate." 

Before Darcy had a chance to respond to this piece of news, Thor stood up and grabbed the whiteboard marker that she'd left sitting on the coffee table. He called out, "Jane! Jane!" and when the woman in question looked up, he waved her over, taking her hand to help her sit in the spot he'd vacated between Darcy and Erik. He cleared the whiteboard, then stood, marker at his lips, frowning, eyebrows drawn, looking thoughtful. The other three exchanged uneasy glances as the seconds passed. Erik coughed. Darcy fiddled. Jane took a breath and leaned forward to speak, but Thor interrupted her with a raised finger. He reached down to look at the book he'd had on his lap earlier, which was still open on the table. It was, Darcy noticed, about the Tønsberg Tapestry, which had been embroidered to celebrate the victory of the Old Ones in the War of Gods. She was aware that it told the story of the War from the invasion of the Jotuns, including the arrival of the Old Ones and ending with the destruction of Asgard. It had been more or less forgotten after the Restoration, and turned up in someone's attic 20 years before. Or something like that. But it seemed to have caught Thor's attention.

The god straightened up again, looked them each in the eye in turn (sadly, Darcy thought), and began to draw.

He drew three circles, then four below below them, then two more at the bottom. Between and among the circles he drew lines, which had the effect of pulling them together, while at the same time holding them apart. When he was done, Thor pointed to his drawing, and said, "Yggdrasil." He pointed to the middle circle at the top of the tree: "Asgard," then to the circle at the far left of the center row: "Midgard." When all three humans had nodded in acknowledgment, he continued.

To the left of the Midgard circle, outside of the lines of Yggdrasil, he drew several stick figures. They all held weapons - spears, swords - and one to the far left held what appeared to be... "Mew mew!" Cried Darcy, jumping up and pointing. "The hammer!" Thor turned around and gave her a withering look, and she grinned right back at him while Jane grabbed her arm and pulled her back down. To the far left, beyond the Thor stick figure, he drew a jumble of black, an enormous scribble, which lurked ominously and threatened to push both over and under the army of stick figures. He pointed down to the book, then back to the board. Jane picked up the book. "It's the Battle of Tønsberg. The final battle of the War of Gods." 

Once they were all looking back at him, Thor picked up the eraser and rubbed out all the stick figures. He redrew them, messily and without the weapons, among the lines and circles of Yggdrasil. He turned back around to make sure they were still paying attention. They were. Thor's hands were shaking, and Darcy thought he looked pretty damn miserable. He reached out a finger and wiped through the lines that connected Midgard to Yggdrasil, leaving the small circle alone in a mess of black scribble.

* * *

Thor had known that  _Jayn_ would be upset, although he hadn't expected her to be quite so violent. She'd understood the implication of his drawing immediately. He'd known she would, she was obviously an intelligent person. She also cared deeply about the war, and Asgard, and him by extension.  _Why_ , exactly, he had no idea. He didn't understand what she did, or why she'd been present when the Bifrost touched down, but he didn't think it was a coincidence. He liked her, and he wanted her to know the truth. Maybe it would even help her, in whatever journey she was on. (He thought too that she might be able to help him get home - but he didn't want to dwell on that thought too much.)

She'd yelled, and cried, and pummeled him with her fists. When he didn't react she'd turned her attention to the whiteboard, kicking it and smacking it so hard it fell over.  _Erik_  was upset too, but seemed more sad than angry.  _Darsee_ didn't appear to be affected one way or the other, but that could just have been because she was so concerned about her friend. She finally got  _Jayn_  calmed down, and took her out to a small building several meters from where they were, coming back alone a few minutes later. Following a brief, hushed conversation,  _Erik_ and  _Darsee_  reached some sort of agreement. _Erik_ left, giving Thor an awkward pat on the back on his way out, and  _Darsee_ got Thor comfortable on the sofa before tucking herself into the cot he'd awakened in hours before. Had it really been only hours? It felt like forever, and he was exhausted, too. He lay down, feet hanging over the edge of the furniture, and slept.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And scene.
> 
> So, I'm really not as far as I wanted to be at this point, and I'm itching to get to WHERE THE SHIT GOES DOWN but it looks like that won't be until next chapter. Not that there was no shit going down in this chapter, of course. But next chapter (thanks to some suggestions from Shadows_of_Shemai and CatChan!!) will be some happening stuff, and stuff that has already happened explained. I hope, if I don't get too wordy :-)
> 
> The Tønsberg Tapestry is based in concept on the Bayeux Tapestry, which tells the story of the Norman Invasion of England in 1066, and which would look pretty amazing covered with Norse gods fighting inter-dimensional horror gods.
> 
> Here is the Anglo-Saxon King Harold being shot in the eye with an arrow on the Bayeux Tapestry:
> 
> Poor Harold.


	10. Asgardians

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Visitors. Lots of visitors.

Darcy slept for much longer than she expected to. She'd dreamed, a lucid dream, one of those where you feel like you've awakened but you can't move. She'd dreamed of lying on the cot, hearing a voice, a velvety dark voice, too quiet to understand... but _that voice_...  

It was almost 5am when she finally awoke, and it took her a moment to remember that she was still in the lab, not in her room at the Bed and Breakfast. She also remembered that she'd been left to keep an eye on Thor, to make sure he didn't wander away or get into trouble. "Shit, shit,  _shit_. Please still be here, please please..." she mumbled to herself as she pulled herself off the cot and stumbled around to the sofa. The sofa, which was empty. "Fuckity fuck. Okay." She wandered to the kitchen area, and noted that there was a half-empty carafe in the coffeemaker, which probably meant that Jane had come in at some point during the night and brewed a pot. It was cold, however, so it hadn't been brewed too recently. She eyed Jane's trailer across the parking lot, but taking a strange man (even a god) into her private space didn't seem like Jane's style, so Darcy figured she'd exhaust other options before going out there.

They clearly weren't in the lab, though, so the only place left to look was up. Darcy went out to the side of the building and climbed up the ladder they kept there. Jane liked to spend time on the roof, when she couldn't sleep, when she was trying to reconcile particle data, when she just wanted to look at the stars, and (Darcy thought, although Jane would never admit it) when she wanted to get away from Darcy and Erik and spend time by herself. As she expected, both Jane and Thor were up there. They were sleeping, each wrapped in a coat and stretched out on a lawn chair. The remnants of a fire smoked in the small grill. They looked cozy, and Darcy couldn't help but smile. She turned around and gazed up into the clear sky, stars shining brightly, the light of dawn just barely beginning to glow on the horizon to the east. She was so caught up in the view she didn't hear Jane moving until her feet were crunching on the gravel of the roof.

"Hey bosslady, I didn't mean to wake you up. Just wanted to check on you."

Jane tucked an arm around the crook of Darcy's elbow and laid her head on her shoulder. Yawning, she said, "You didn't wake me up. I was already a bit awake. It's been a weird night."

Darcy looked over at her friend, taking in her worried expression, and gave her arm a squeeze. "Come on down, I'll brew coffee and you can tell me about it. Okay?"

A few minutes later they were sitting at the kitchen table, nursing cups of coffee. Jane had just started telling Darcy about her night. "I woke up around 2:30 and couldn't get back to sleep, so I thought I'd come over and do some work. I was just going to make some coffee and take my laptop to the roof. So I wouldn't wake you guys up. But Thor was already awake." She frowned and swirled her coffee. "I thought at first you were awake too, because when I got to the lab door I _thought_ I heard his voice. But when I came in he was alone, just sitting there in the dark. He... ah, oh gods Darcy." She swallowed and took Darcy's hand across the table. "He was crying. Just weeping. I hugged him a bit, and that seemed to help. I got him some food, made some coffee and took him to the roof." She paused, taking a sip of coffee. Darcy waited for her to continue. 

Jane's knuckles were white, hands tight around her cup. "Something's wrong, Darcy. Something is  _seriously_ wrong. Remember when Thor first landed? He called to Heimdall, and Mjolnir. No response to either. And tonight..." She took another long sip of coffee. A delaying tactic, Darcy was pretty sure. "He tried to tell me something. On the roof, once he calmed down. He drew one of his," she waved her hand, "stick figure drawings. Oh man, those drawings." She smiled fondly, but the smile quickly turned into a look of concern. "I think Odin kicked him out of Asgard."

Darcy knitted her brow. "But why would he do that? I mean, Thor would have had to do something pretty awful. And apparently they still think the Old Ones rule here. Why the hell would Odin banish him to _Midgard_ of all places?"

Jane shook her head and shrugged. "I don't  _know_ , Darcy. I didn't understand everything. He was really hard to understand. But it gets worse." Darcy took a quick sip of coffee. "Worse?" Jane nodded. "Worse. Again I'm not entirely clear, but I'm pretty sure he was trying to tell me that Odin is dead, and Loki is now king of Asgard."

Darcy sat back in her chair. "Woah. Loki, he's Thor's brother, right? God of Mischief?" His name nudged something inside her, deep in her brain. Maybe she'd read something about him in school? She couldn't remember. Pushing the thought back, she stood up to get the carafe to refill their coffees. Jane replied, "Yes, that's the one. So we have a connection to Asgard, which is  _great_ for mine and Erik's long-term plan, but we seem to have stepped into the middle of a major political event." She groaned, but thanked Darcy as she filled her cup. "Political intrigue is so far out of my league, Darcy."

The younger woman grinned as she slipped back into her chair. "Well, it's a good thing your intern is a Political Science major. Maybe my mad skills will come in handy after all." Jane smiled at her tiredly, then stretched and stood up. "Your skills are always handy. I value your work, Darcy, and I'm really glad your here. I can't imagine going through this with any of the other applicants." She shuddered. "Anyway, I want to do some work. Get my brain moving. Can you help me analyze the rest of the data from the other night?"

* * *

Thor came inside around 7:30am, just after sunrise, and Erik showed up around 8. Jane was teaching Thor how to scramble eggs, to Darcy's amusement. "For someone who eats so much, he sure has no idea how to cook!" Jane grinned as he successfully transferred egg from the pan to a plate. "He's a prince, Darcy, he has people to cook for him. He's probably never been in a kitchen in his life." Thor carried plates to the table and set one in front of Erik, looking immensely proud of himself. "Thank you, Thor," said Erik politely. " _Yurr Whelkum, Erik_ ," he replied with a smile, and sat down himself to eat.

At that moment there was a pounding on the front windows of the building. They all looked up to see four impressive individuals pressed up against the glass. Thor jumped up as the people opened the door, greeting him with an embrace. Darcy, Jane and Erik all stood and walked towards the group, open-mouthed and speechless. The people - three men and a woman - were dressed in leather and metal, carried a variety of weapons, and looked like they'd come straight from a Ren Fest. Clearly not locals.

One of the people, a very large man with long red hair and a beard to match, was bellowing to Thor, "Ha, we found you! Very glad, too. You look well." He noticed the three humans, and gave them a bow. "Oh, excuse me. The Lady Sif and the Warriors Three. I am Volstagg, the Valiant, this is Fandral, the Dashing, and Hogun, the Grim." The Errol Flynn look-alike gave them a bow, and winked at Darcy; she rolled her eyes in response. The dark-haired man nodded at them, but didn't smile.

The woman - Lady Sif - did smile. "Pray excuse our interruption. We are very pleased to meet you all, and glad to see that you have made acquaintance with our Prince Thor."

Jane had been watching the scene with amazement, but finally found her voice. She gave an awkward little bow. "Hello. I'm Jane Foster, and this is Erik Selvig and Darcy Lewis." Thor said something, and the visitors all laughed merrily, Fandral giving Jane a sidelong glance. Jane cleared her throat. "I suppose you are all from Asgard, too?" Sif nodded. "Hogun is Vanir, the rest of us are Æsir. Do you understand what that means?" Jane nodded and gripped her hands together, suddenly very uncomfortable. "Yes, we know about the other realms. But, can you please tell me why we can understand your speech, but we can't understand Thor's?"

Volstagg frowned and gripped Thor on the shoulder. "Thor, the Lady Jane says that they are unable to understand your speech. Is this true?" Thor nodded and said something in reply. At this Volstagg laughed and clapped him on the back. "Ah, ha ha ha! So you have been unable to speak, and yet you have made yourself understood. Yes?" Both Thor and Jane nodded at this. Darcy spoke up. "He drew lots of pictures for us. He's quite an artist." She pointed to the whiteboard, where the drawing from the previous afternoon still stood. Hogun walked over quickly and gazed at it. Jane came and stood next to him. Hogun spoke: "He told you about the War." Jane nodded. "Yes. It was a shock to hear." Hogun turned to her, and looked into her eyes for a moment. "It was a difficult decision. Some may say it was the wrong one." Without waiting for a reply, he walked back to his friends.

Sif spoke next. "To answer your question, Lady Jane, we have Allspeak. It is a spell we use, that allows us to understand and to be understood." Erik echoed, "A spell." Sif nodded. "You would call it that, yes. But it appears that Thor lost his Allspeak when he was banished." Erik started with surprise. " _Banished_? What do you mean  _banished_?" Darcy nudged him with her elbow. "Oh yeah, we were going to get to that after breakfast. Jane and Thor had an interesting night." He looked at her, dumbfounded. She giggled. "Not  _that_ interesting, Erik. Don't be dirty." He closed his eyes and rubbed a hand across his forehead. "I didn't think... oh, never mind."

Fandral gave them all a smile. "Well, it's been marvelous to meet you all, but we must be going. We need to take Thor back to Asgard." At this Thor shook his head, and began speaking rapidly, which lead to a whispered conversation amongst the Asgardian group. As they conversed, Erik whispered, too. "Jane, what is this about  _banishment_?" Jane shook her head, keeping her eyes on the group of warriors. "I'm not sure, Erik. It wasn't very clear. But apparently Thor did something, I don't know what, and Odin kicked him out of Asgard. And if I understood correctly, now Odin is dead and Loki is king." Erik nodded, looking thoughtful. "He told you this last night?" Jane nodded. "And you are sure he told you that it was Odin who banished him?" Jane nodded again. Erik continued. "Jane, if Odin banished Thor, how did Thor find out about Odin's death? And Loki?" Jane frowned. "I, um. I don't know." 

Darcy froze, and her breath stuttered with a sudden realization. She knew,  _knew_ how Thor knew about Odin and Loki. "Loki," she said. Jane and Erik looked at her. Her mouth was suddenly dry, her head felt light. "Oh shit, guys. Loki was  _here_. While I was sleeping. I thought it was a dream, but it was... something else. I'm sure it was him." She noticed her hands were shaking, palms sweaty and cold. "He was talking to Thor. His voice, it was..." She shuddered. "I don't know what he said. But it must have been him. Right?" Jane took her hand and squeezed it comfortingly.

"It was Loki." Volstagg had appeared behind Darcy, and enveloped her shoulder in his enormous, beefy hand. She found it very comforting. "Thor told us. But it was lies. Odin lives. And we must take Thor back with us. He must fix what is happening in Asgard." Darcy glanced at Thor. He was looking at her, with concern and perhaps a bit of guilt as well. She offered him a small smile, which her returned.

Jane sighed, and turned to look at Thor herself. "You need to come back. When this is over. All of you. We need you. The Old Ones... we did defeat them, but they are only asleep. They may come back. I don't know if we can push them back again. With you, with the power of Asgard, I think we could defeat them finally. I  _know_  we could." She stepped closer, and looked at each of them in turn. "You  _must_  come back." They all nodded, and Sif reached out and took her hand. "We will. We promise. But now we must away. Time grows short."

As they were speaking, Darcy noticed something in the sky, over the desert. "Hey, guys?" she said, loudly, "You need to see this." As everyone turned to look, the funnel cloud that she'd seen forming touched down with a distant thud, and just as quickly returned to the sky. Darcy asked softly, "Was somebody else coming?" - but she didn't expect an answer. Almost immediately there were explosions in the desert, which moved steadily closer to town. 

Everything happened quite quickly after that. The Warriors Three and Sif headed down Main Street, towards the explosions. Erik, Jane, Darcy, and Thor helped gather the townspeople, loading them into trucks and encouraging them to drive out of town in the other direction, and as fast as possible. But within minutes the thing the Asgardians called the Destroyer - an enormous robot that spewed fire from its face - was in town. And they were simply no match for it; it tossed them around like rags. By the time the Destroyer had made its way all the way through town, razing everything in its path, things were looking bad. Volstagg was having trouble standing, and the others didn't look much better. They were all clustered in the doorway to the lab, watching the Destroyer make its way slowly towards them.

Thor met it in the street. He simply walked out to it, without a weapon, without any hope of defeating it. All the others could do was hold their breath as the seconds passed, as Thor and the Destroyer regarded each other.

When the Destroyer hit Thor it was with full force; it reminded Darcy of a baseball player hitting a home run. They could hear Thor's bones crunch from the shelter of the doorway, and from the way he flew, and the angle of his neck when he landed, it was clear that he was not just very badly hurt. 

Jane ran out to Thor. "Nonononono," she breathed the words out, and almost forgot to breathe back in again. She laid her hands on the sides of his head, and gently straightened it out. His eyes were open wide, but unseeing. She pressed their foreheads together, stroked his hair. "Oh gods, please please no. Please no." She continued her murmuring and ministrations, wiping tears off his cheeks that she realized were her own.

Seconds later Erik was pulling her away. Seconds after that Thor was upright, Mjolnir held in his upheld fist, at the center of a lightning storm. Then he was in a tornado, in a tornado with the Destroyer, and there was one final, powerful explosion that knocked them all down, and the Destroyer fell, and Thor was back, standing in front of her, well and whole and complete, and really, finally, looking like a  _god_.

It was a good look.

He grinned down at her. "Hello, Jane."

Jane felt giddy. She wasn't normally a giggler, but with the stress of the past five minutes, of the past day, she couldn't help it. "Hey, Thor," she punched his arm gently, "you're looking good."

He smirked, and nodded, and... was that a blush? "As are you. Thank you, for everything." He turned to the others, his expression growing serious. "We need to leave soon. I would have words with my brother."

Darcy shivered. "That was from Loki? Shit." Thor gave her a dark look. "Yes. There is darkness in him, that was not there before. I do not understand. However," he perked up, "I seem to have met the obligations of my banishment. I have Mjolnir, I have Allspeak." He raised the hammer and winked at Jane, making her blush.

While they were speaking, several black sedans pulled in from the west of town, arriving in a cloud of dust. Soon their small group was surrounded by a slightly larger group of black-suit-clad agents, with Phil Coulson himself leading the pack. "Excuse me, Donald. I don't think you've been completely honest with me," he said, pulling his sunglasses off his face. Thor smiled at this. "Indeed, Son of Coul. I am Thor. Did you know?"

Coulson nodded. "We did figure that. May, she was certain. We've been keeping our eyes on you since yesterday. I will say we did not expect anything quite so sudden."

Thor frowned. "This was the work of Loki, my brother. I am sorry. We must return to Asgard soon. However, I have many questions."

Coulson almost chuckled. " _You_ have questions? You are supposed to be  _dead_. Your entire race.  _You_ ," he gestured to all the Asgardians, "are causing serious complications. And I want to know exactly what is going on."

Thor nodded. "I, too, would like answers. You thought us to be dead, but we have thought you to be..." he shrugged, "you know."

Coulson sighed. "Yes, I know. Do you have time? Now?"

Volstagg and Fandral looked looked apprehensive, impatient, but Hogun and Sif seemed less concerned. Thor took them in, then inclined his head again. "Indeed, Son of Coul. A few minutes only, and then we do need to return to Asgard."

They all turned towards the lab, anxious to both ask and answer questions that had been uncovered in the past 24 hours.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This writing thing is really hard! It turns out I'm kind of crap at writing action scenes. I watched the complete movie once, and these particular scenes... well, I don't know how many times. Describing what's happening in an action scene is not nearly as interesting as watching it. So I kind of skimmed over. But I'm guessing y'all have seen it, so you can kind of imagine how it goes :-)
> 
> It's kind of interesting to me how choices I made early on are now influencing other things, things I didn't anticipate. Like, SHIELD didn't take Jane's stuff, so the dynamic there is going to be a bit different. Thor didn't go to the crash site, which also changes the dynamic AND it gave me a chance to bring Loki to the lab. I actually wasn't anticipating that, I was just going to skip the visit completely, and then he just SHOWED UP, the stinker, and he freaked out Darcy too. But again, kind of fun? I hope?
> 
> I mentioned in the notes for the last chapter that I'd done some research. Well, that research will _finally_ come to fruition _next chapter_ , haha. So I hope you all enjoy this one to read the next too, because I'm excited to write it.
> 
> Thanks so much for reading, I love your comments and kudos!!
> 
> EDIT: I forgot to credit Shadows_of_Shemai for the idea about how Thor lost/regained the Allspeak. When I had him arrive without it, I had no clue how or if he'd get it back. Thank goodness for helpful comments, Yay!


	11. Answers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some things are explained.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am totally blown away that this has 6090 hits and 289 Kudos. You all are wonderful, thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoy this chapter!
> 
> EDIT: March 15, 2015: I hate doing this, but I have just edited Chapter 8 and then this chapter in order to include Jasper Sitwell. I'd forgotten that he was in the Thor movie until I rewatched it last week, and I intended to include him in this chapter and edit 8 before but I forgot. Mea culpa! So if you are coming back for another read, don't be surprised if it's just slightly different :-)

By the time everyone got settled in the lab, Coulson'd had a few minutes to examine the drawing on the whiteboard. When Thor came up to stand next to him, Coulson sighed. "I guess that answers our first question." Thor nodded and looked at the floor. "I am sorry, Son of Coul. It was not a decision lightly made. And it seems that you were able to handle it, after all." He straightened up and turned to face the agent. "That is my question. How did you do it?"

Coulson shook his head. "Not yet. That's next. I want to know why you're here now. Talk." 

Thor turned to the group gathered tightly near the whiteboard. Everyone - Asgardians, SHIELD agents, and scientists - was standing or sitting around the coffeetable, except for Darcy who was in the kitchen area brewing coffee. She felt slightly out of place and figured that even if she couldn't add anything to the conversation, she could damn well brew some coffee.

Thor paused a moment before speaking slowly. "My friends know this. I was banished, by the Allfather. I... I led the Warriors Three, and Sif, and Loki, to a battle on Jotenheim. If I had been thinking, I would have known the trouble it would bring. I do not blame Odin for doing what he did. I brought him great shame, and I insulted him to his face." He looked to his friends. "But I do not understand why he banished me here. We did not know that Midgard survived, our connection has been severed for a thousand years. I cannot believe that he knew all was well, and did not tell me. Or did he not know?" He shook his head and looked at the ground. "That is even worse." He looked so sad, Jane itched to reach out and grab his hand, to comfort him. He continued softly, "Did he hate me enough to send me to the Old Ones?"

"It was a mistake." That was Sif, seated on the sofa between Erik and Agent Sitwell. Darcy was now out with a tray full of coffee and had started handing out cups. The woman warrior took one in her hands without noticing. Thor's brow furrowed. "A mistake? How?"

Sif signed and set the cup down on the table. "Heimdall suspects it was a reaction between Mjolnir and Gungnir, one Odin did not foresee. He used Gungnir to open the Bifrost that day, and remember that Gungnir is made of the matter of Yggdrasil. Not Yggdrasil as it is now, but Yggdrasil as it was before, when it was nine realms instead of eight. All he asked for, when he opened the Bifrost, was a place for you to go where you might learn humility. Who better to teach you humility than Midgardians? The hammer and the staff, they are objects. They know nothing of what passes outside of their own existence. Gungnir knows all nine realms. So, between the two of them, they settled the Bifrost on Midgard." She smiled sadly. "It was luck, and the power of the Midgardians too I suppose, that you are safe."

Thor gazed down and addressed the hammer held tightly in his right hand. " _You_ did this? Amazing." He raised his eyes to Sif. "When did Odin realize what had happened?"

Sif replied, "Almost immediately. Heimdall saw where you went, but he could not see you once you had arrived. He delivered the news to the Allfather as he was leaving the Observatory. I am afraid he did not take it well. Heimdall was able to find you, in time, which is how we knew it would be safe to come here ourselves. But it was too late by then; the Allfather had already slipped into the Odinsleep, and was not to be awakened."

Thor's expression grew dark at that. "And then Loki took the throne. And he came here and told me that Odin is dead, to keep me from trying to go back myself. And he sent the Destroyer..." 

"Excuse me?" Coulson interrupted, "Loki was here?"

Thor nodded. "Yes. Overnight he came and spoke to me." Darcy thought his eyes flitted to her as he said this, but it happened so quickly she couldn't be sure. In any case he continued speaking. "And then this. I do not understand what he is thinking."

His voice became stronger, commanding. "Son of Coul, I have answered your questions. Now you answer mine. Quickly."

Coulson started pacing slowly in the space between the whiteboard and the coffeetable. "That is the big question, isn't it. How did Midgardians send back the Old Ones?" He paused and looked around at everyone before turning his head to Darcy, who was back in the kitchen with the coffeemaker. "Miss Lewis? How did we do it?"

Darcy froze, not expecting to be called out like that. After a moment she realized everyone was staring at her, including the terrifying Agent Melinda May, and she decided that saying something, even something potentially stupid, was probably better than saying nothing. "Um, well,  _we_ didn't. Nobody in this room, I mean. It happened like 800 years ago." She paused. Coulson nodded. "Go on, please."

She sighed and leaned against the counter. "I don't know much, just what I leaned in school." Coulson didn't reply, just watched her expectantly. She dredged her memory for anything relevant. "Okay, I know it had to do with the Great Conjunction of 1186. That was when the Restoration happened. All the humans on Midgard joined together, and were able to throw off the Old Ones. Something about the conjunction made them weak - the Old Ones I mean - and made the humans strong. I think?" She paused. "That's all I got."

Coulson looked satisfied. "So, Miss Lewis, do you know _how_ it happened?" She shook her head decisively. "Nope. I know when, but not how. Just that it did."

The agent stopped pacing and turned to look at the rest of the group. "The Great Conjunction of 1186. On September 20th of that year, from the point of view of Midgard, the planets converged on the sun. In parts of the world, this event had been predicted as far as two years earlier. In other parts, people would only know it was coming if they watched the morning or evening skies in the month or so leading up to it, as the planets and sun got closer together. But even if they couldn't see it, apparently, they could feel it."

He started his slow pacing again, hands in his pockets. "We have very few records, and what we have isn't so clear. Manuscripts from Rupertsberg and Eibingen in Germany. Chronicles from various places - England, India, China. Oral traditions from the Anangu and Koori in Australia."

"And the Amhara, in Africa," Erik chimed in. Jane, sitting on the arm of the sofa next to him nodded in agreement, saying, "And the Zulu, too. They have wonderful stories related to the Restoration."

Coulson continued, "Yes. Oral traditions, and native art. There are Pueblo cave drawings just down the road - you can go see them, if you want. These people understood what was happening in very different ways. The religious - Christians, Jains, Buddhists, Muslims - interpreted it as intervention by their gods. The Aboriginal peoples seem to have interpreted it as a reaction of the cosmos against the Interlopers, as they called the Old Ones. And the Pueblo..." He trailed off, and Agent Yazzie, in a kitchen chair pulled close to the group, picked up the thread. "Hard to say. The cave drawings are all we have. They show what appears to be the planets around the sun, with darkness down below. But we can only guess at what they thought - nothing about the Restoration survives in our oral tradition."

Coulson nodded and puffed out his cheeks in a sigh, then continued. "What we believe is that this astronomical event had some kind of influence both on the Old Ones, and on the Midgardians. Now, this would have been almost 200 years after the War of Gods. By that time the cults had spread across the world, and many people were worshiping the Old Ones as gods. But we know that for every person who worshipped an Old One, there was at least one other person who did not. Other religions were barely tolerated, but they were practiced in secret. Those cultures tied most closely to the land were the strongest in their practice, more sophisticated cultures were more likely to be in thrall. But we think they averaged out. There was madness and death. But there were also many people who clung tightly to their humanity, and who raised their children to do the same."

Here Coulson paused and looked at the gathered group. There was absolute silence, even Darcy in the kitchen had ceased her tasks, caught up in the agent's story. It was Volstagg who interrupted. "So, er, what happened then?"

Coulson smirked and shrugged. "We don't really know." "We have an idea, though," interjected Agent May, unsmiling. She sounded very certain, standing behind the sofa. Darcy'd been sure before, but she was positive now that if the Old Ones did come back, she'd want Agent Melinda May on her side. Coulson nodded to May to continue.

"They were human," she said, crossing her arms. "They'd been fighting the monsters for generations. Each culture had its own prayers, its own stories, its own ways of keeping the members of that culture connected to their humanity. The Conjunction magnified those things, while at the same time weakening the monsters' hold. The people felt the strengthening of themselves and the weakening of the others. As the Conjunction drew closer, they continued what they were already doing, but maybe did more of it - told more stories, said more prayers, practiced more rituals. Trying to bring themselves closer to their gods, to their land, to their loved ones. And on the day of the Conjunction itself, it was enough to push the monsters back to wherever they came from."

Thor looked confused. "They just left? There was no battle? You did not kill them?"

Agent May leveled her gaze at him. "It _was_ a battle, although it was not one you would recognize. No one knew it was a battle at the time. Only later. And no, they're not dead. As they left Midgard they sent messages to their followers, and some of them survive in records. The best known is probably one from a Sicilian chronicle: 'Man rules now where They ruled once;' ..." As she spoke, Coulson, Yazzie, Sitwell, Jane and Erik joined and recited together. "They shall soon rule where man rules now. After summer is winter, and after winter summer. They wait patient and potent, for here shall They reign again."

Darcy shivered. She broke the silence that followed the recitation. "That's creepy, dude. I don't want to think about that."

Jane looked over to her. "None of us do, Darce. But we need to. And if they do come back, _when_ they do, we need to be prepared. Which is why we need to develop a relationship with ah... um, with Asgard." She looked up at Thor and blushed. He grinned back at her. Then he shook his head and turned back to Coulson.

"I believe that is all questions answered, then. We must go," he gestured to the other Asgardians, who stood and started to gather their weapons. The others stood as well. Darcy proceeded to collect the coffee mugs, most of which were untouched, the coffee cool. Thor took Jane's hand. "We'll come back, as soon as we can. We will work with you to come up with a plan. I promise. But first, I must deal with Loki. Yes?" Jane offered him a worried smile. "Yes."

Thor's expression changed to one of devilish playfulness. "Would you like to see the bridge?"

"Uh... sure?" Thor pulled her outside, and within seconds Mjolnir was pulling them through the air to the Bifrost site. They landed with a slight bump less than a minute later, Thor setting Jane down gently on the sandy ground.

"I suppose it will take everyone else a few minutes to get here?" Thor asked, looking back towards town.

Jane nodded, "At least a few minutes, Thor. They'll need to decide who goes in which car."

He looked at her and she smiled, then his expression changed to one of contemplation. "I do have one more question for you, Jane. I did not want to ask in front of the others."

"Ooookay. What's that?" She cocked her head and shuffled her feet nervously.

"Yesterday, while you were working, Darcy and Erik told me about soulmates. You have marks, on your skin? They tell you who you will love. Is that right?"

Jane nodded slowly, still shuffling, and drew out her answer. "Yeeeeeees, that's right. That is right." She looked back to town herself, noting clouds of sand where the cars kicked it up.

"Darcy says you do not have one."

Jane snapped her head back to look at him. "Did she? Well, I don't. Is that a problem?"

Thor smiled, taking odd pleasure in her obvious embarrassment. "I don't think it is, Jane. I have not heard of such a thing, so I do not care. However, does that mean you do not have an intended?"

Jane raised her eyebrows, blushing furiously. "An  _intended_? You mean a boyfriend?"

Thor chuckled. "A boyfriend, then. No?"

Jane shook her head. "No. I don't."

Thor smiled at her again, a smile that made her feel her blush all the way to her toes. She was a bit afraid of ruining the mood, but she had what was suddenly a  _very important question_. "Thor, you haven't heard of soulmarks before. But you were here, weren't you? Don't you remember them from before?" _  
_

Thor frowned. "I spent much time on Midgard over several years, I came to know many people, and no one had a soulmark." Jane was pretty sure there was also a  _I slept with many human women_ in there somewhere, but she chose to ignore it.

She glanced back; the cars would arrive within a minute. "Thor," she took his hand, "I thought we'd always had them. Soulmarks, I mean. They're mentioned in classical poetry. Are you sure you never saw them or heard about them when you were here?"

He shook his head. "Never, Jane. I would not forget such an odd method for determining one's match."

"How do you determine matches on Asgard, then?"

Thor touched her cheek gently with the tip of one of his fingers. It was warm. "We are matched with those people we wish to be with, and those who wish to be with us. It is never that simple, of course, but it seems to work. On Asgard, and in the other realms of Yggdrasil as well." 

As Thor finished speaking, the cars pulled up and everyone hopped out, the Asgardians heading for the Bifrost mark still visible in the ground. Thor squeezed Jane's hand, then went to join his friends. They would return to Asgard, take care of Loki, and return to Midgard as soon as they could. Thor had every intention of picking up where he and his people had left off a thousand years before. He would return.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh man, this chapter! It has been a long time coming. Sorry to make you all wait.
> 
> This ties up a lot of loose ends, I think, and now everyone's pretty much on the same page. Asgard's betrayal, Thor's banishment, and how the Midgardians conquered the Old Ones, in their own way.
> 
> I've been working on that for weeks, so I really hope it makes sense. I even did research, I read up on the world history of astronomy (because boy oh boy, non-Western cultures have/had a very different conception of the skies than the science-based west), I spent a lot of time playing with a piece of software called [Stellarium](http://stellarium.org), which you can download too if you want to know what the sky looked like from any point on the planet on September 20th, 1186. And yes, the Grand Conjunction really happened on that day, and it was pretty awesome. It was combined with a solar eclipse in the Northern Hemisphere, and a letter was sent around in 1184 saying that this event was going to happen and that THE WORLD IS GOING TO END OH MY GOODNESS. (Fun trivia: [The letter kept popping up afterwards](http://hoaxes.org/archive/permalink/the_toledo_letter), with different dates and slightly different details. It was like a medieval version of those hoax notes that get shared around on Facebook).
> 
> I settled on the conjunction early on as a kind of focal point for the Restoration, because it was from about the right time (I wanted something around 1200), and it would have been visible from pretty much everywhere on the planet. Then I needed something that could happen without much (any) coordination among people. Since most people on the planet wouldn't even know the conjunction was coming until a month before, there wasn't really time, nor would there have been the kind of technology needed for such fast communication. Finally, I wanted something that everyone would be a part of, even if they didn't know it. You may think you're the only person praying under the covers, in a town full of Cthulhu worshippers, but NO SIR/MA'AM you are a part of SOMETHING BIGGER. And all you're doing is those things that humans do. The Old Ones want to make you crazy, so stay sane. They hate that. (and, if enough people do it, under the right circumstances, they'll go away)
> 
> I also love (and I hope you will, too), the part that native peoples from around the world play in this. They relied on oral traditions rather than written record, and their traditions would include stories about the creation of the world, the creation of humans, stories about their gods, and in the case of the Aboriginal tribes of Australia, their relationship with the sky was tied very closely to their day-to-day lives (e.g., knowing when to plant certain crops). In the AU, these people were the backbone of the Restoration. They would have been the strongest holdouts against the Old Ones, most responsible for their overthrow. 
> 
> The irony, I'm afraid, is that once the Old Ones left, things on Midgard followed much the same path as our own U. Many of these cultures were damaged or destroyed by colonialism and it's friend slavery, and things in 2010 AU aren't so different from how 2010 was for us. The existence of Soulmates may have mitigated things, but let's say that although it was acceptable for a slave to be matched with the owner's son (the slave no longer being a slave at that point - soulmarks in this AU are well-respected), that wasn't enough for people to throw away the concept of slavery altogether. Downer - sorry.
> 
> Right, so I've been kind of sitting on all this, and then just this morning I learned about Hildegard of Bingen's Cosmic Egg. It looks like this:
> 
> [Hildegard of Bingen](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hildegard_of_Bingen) was a 12th century Christian mystic in Germany, and that's her vision of the cosmos. The earth is in the center, then the moon, two planets, the sun, then three more planets (I forget which are which, sorry). Reminds me a bit of a planetary conjugation. Hildegard died in 1179, so she didn't live to see the conjunction, but the monasteries she founded were Rupertsberg and Eibingen, which Coulson mentions in his list of surviving records. I like to think that in our AU, mysticism of all religions was strong, though secret, and Hildegard was a major restorationist, her nuns contributing much power to the Restoration and then documenting it afterwards. Anyway, seeing that this morning gave me a burst of inspiration and I finished the chapter today. You're welcome!
> 
> Three cheers for CatChan for coming up with the idea of Mjolnir and Gungnir tag-teaming to get Thor to Midgard. I had _no idea_ how that actually happened, and I really like this idea, which totally belongs to her and not to me.


	12. Waiting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What happened while they were waiting for Thor to return.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When it rains it pours, I guess. Here's the second chapter in as many days. Yazzie and May insisted!

Within minutes the Asgardians were gone. There was some confusion at first - Heimdall didn't answer Thor's call immediately, and there was a point at which Hogun declared (a bit negatively, Darcy thought) that they were stranded. Surely Midgard wasn't  _that_ bad. But then the Bifrost appeared, a great column of white and colored light that roared like a freight train. Jane gave Thor a big kiss, one that made Darcy's own toes curl; she could only imagine how it felt to Jane, the lucky woman. And then, they were gone.

The anomaly remained for hours, clouds slowly rotating in an otherwise clear desert sky. Coulson and most of the other SHIELD agents left not long after the Asgardians did, saying they had to start cleaning up the crash site and the town. Agents Yazzie and May stayed, although Erik assured them they didn't have to. Around noon Darcy went with Yazzie back to town to find some lunch. As they dug through the cabinets and fridge in the lab kitchen, pulling out bread and cold cuts to make sandwiches, Darcy asked the agent how he got involved in SHIELD.

"First, please call me Carl. Agent Yazzie sounds like my dad. Okay?"

"Okay," Darcy agreed. "And you can call me Darcy. Miss Lewis sounds like someone's spinster aunt." Carl laughed out loud at that, and proceeded to tell his story.

"My father was in SHIELD, the first Native American agent, based in the office up in Albuquerque. He knew Howard Stark and Peggy Carter, the co-founders of SHIELD, personally. I was so proud of him, protecting people from dangers known and unknown, preparing for the return of the Old Ones." He pulled a stack of bread slices out of a bag and lined them up, two by two, down the countertop. "I knew when I was a kid that I wanted to do what he did." Picking up a knife and a jar of mayonnaise, Carl proceeded to spread a thin layer on every other slice of bread in the first row. "So I worked hard in school, graduated top of my class." He smiled grimly at the mayonnaise knife. "We lived on the reservation until I was ten, when my dad was transferred to the Triskelion." He glanced at Darcy and explained, "That's the SHIELD headquarters, in DC." 

Darcy had been observing Carl as he put together the sandwiches. His structured workflow for sandwich development put her to shame - she glanced at the paper grocery bag on the counter, where she'd tossed a super-size bag of pretzels and a handful of clementines without much thought. She watched as he set down the knife and pulled a few slices of deli turkey out of the paper wrapper. He appeared to weigh them with his hand before depositing them on one slice of mayonnaise-covered bread. "From the reservation to Washington DC, huh?" She said, "That sounds like some major culture shock."

Carl laughed again, as he had earlier. His eyes crinkled pleasantly when he smiled or laughed, which he seemed to do a lot. He wasn't that tall, maybe 5'9", and was squarely built but definitely in good shape. In that moment he reminded Darcy a bit of her Uncle Walter, her mother's younger brother, who'd spent his 20s following the Grateful Dead around the country. Just a chill, happy dude. He was about the same age as her uncle, too, but different in that Carl was clean-cut and looked very official in his black suit (even with desert dust around the cuffs of his trousers). She was pretty sure her uncle'd never worn a suit in his life. She smiled at the thought.

Meanwhile Carl had continued laying out turkey slices, considering how to answer Darcy's comment. "It was a shock. It was really hard. My sister, she was older, and she went back to the rez to live with our grandparents after just a few months. But I liked it. Opportunity in adversity, right? We lived in a nice neighborhood, and I went to a good school, which meant that most of the other kids were white." He set aside the packet of turkey and picked up a squeeze bottle of yellow mustard. "They made fun of me, the way I talked, the way I thought about things. What could I do? I showed them all up." He grinned at Darcy, and reached for a packet of ham. "Hey, you got any tomato or lettuce?"

Darcy dug into the crisper drawer and pulled out a couple of slightly wrinkled tomatoes and some wilted romaine. Carl scrutinized them with a grimace. "Sorry, dude. That's all we got. You want better, you're gonna have to grow it yourself." He shrugged, and Darcy pulled out a sharp knife and a cutting board.

"So what, then," said Darcy, continuing their conversation. "You beat them at their own game?"

Carl gave her a huge smile, friendly on the surface but belied by a glint in his eyes. "Oh Darcy, I beat them at a game they didn't even know existed. It was  _awesome_." He punctuated the word by slicing heavily through a tomato. "I went full native. I grew out my hair, wore traditional jewelry and moccasins my grandmother made for me. I would have worn a headdress and native costume if I could have gotten away with it. I told traditional stories at lunchtime to anyone who would listen."

"Stories? Like what?"

Carl shrugged, a loose relaxed gesture. "Different stories, ones my dad and grandparents used to tell. Many about Coyote, who wasn't very smart. One of my favorites was one where Coyote wants to impress Woodpecker, so he ties burning sticks to himself and his family so they look like they have colorful plumage. They end up getting burned and embarrassed, all because they wanted to pretend to be something other than what they were. A good lesson for kids, I think." 

Darcy was seriously impressed. "A good lesson for most people. That was totally ballsy. What did the other kids think?"

"They hated it, mostly. A few kids liked it, and they were my friends. Melinda May? Her brother was in my class, he was great. They both were."

Darcy shivered. "Agent May scares me. She's so intense, like she seems calm but she might just _snap_."

Done slicing the tomato, Carl started laying thin slices on each sandwich. "Well, everybody has their issues, I guess." Darcy wasn't sure she wanted to know about Agent May's issues. He continued. "The teachers hated it too, but there was nothing they could do, because I was smart. I mean, really smart. School was easy for me, and I worked hard. Dotted my i's, crossed my t's. No rocking the boat in class."

Carl moved from tomato to lettuce, which Darcy had washed and separated into leaves. "By the time we hit high school, I was known as The Smartest Kid in the Class, but I still wasn't popular. Things did improve socially Junior year. It turned out the homecoming queen was my soulmate, I'd just never talked to her before then." He laughed, a sound that was growing to be one of Darcy's favorite, then shook is head and said softly, "Fate sure does have a sense of humor."

Carl stood back to inspect his handiwork, the sandwiches still open, turkey and mayonnaise alternating with ham and mustard. Satisfied, he lay on the top slices of bread, two at a time. Eight finished sandwiches lined up photogenically on the counter. He held out his hands, Vanna-style. "Ta dah!" Darcy applauded.

As they wrapped the sandwiches, Carl continued. "So, I was valedictorian, and I went on to enroll in the SHIELD Academy of Operations. That was orders of magnitude more difficult than high school. Something like forty percent of students who start at the Academy end up washing out. But not me. I wasn't first in my class, but I was closer to first than I was to last. Now, twenty years later, here I am!" He lay down the last wrapped sandwich and turned to Darcy. "So, does that answer your question?"

It was Darcy's turn to laugh. "That was way more than I was expecting, thanks. You know, since you started talking I haven't thought once about the crazy alien death adventures that have made up the last 36 hours of my life. So thanks for that too."

Carl placed the sandwiches in the grocery bag, and Darcy grabbed a six pack of seltzer water. "You're welcome, Darcy. You sounded sincerely interested, so I figured I'd give you the long version."

Carl's sedan was parked behind the lab, but Darcy stopped to look out the front windows before heading out the back door. The town was a mess, with SHIELD agents talking to townspeople while police officers and firefighters helped clear debris. Darcy's chest felt tight. "These are good people, Carl. They didn't deserve this."

Carl put his hand on her shoulder. "No one deserves this. I hope Thor gets Loki straightened out, it sounds like he's having some issues."

They turned around and headed to the car. "Issues? I think Loki's got way more than issues, dude. He's got a subscription, maybe two." She shivered, reminded again about her dream-that-was-probably-not-a-dream. 

They drove out of town in silence, both watching the slow rotation of clouds. 

Carl broke the silence. "Do you really think they'll come back?"

Darcy sighed, leaning her head against the passenger-side window. "Thor seemed pretty determined. He was really upset when he found out what had happened, after they left before, and I think that he thinks it was a mistake to leave us. Although, from what Coulson said about how the Restoration happened, they might not have been much help. It sounds like their approach to fighting the Old Ones wasn't working, you know?"

The agent nodded. "If they'd been here for the Great Conjunction I think it could have made a huge difference. They couldn't do it without us, but their magic could potentially boost our power. That's Dr. Foster's angle, isn't it?" His eyes didn't shift from the track leading across the desert to the Bifrost site.

Darcy shifted uncomfortably. "You know, I don't really want to talk about Jane's work with you. No offense. If you want to know about her work maybe you can ask her?"

Carl glanced over and gave her an apologetic smile. "Sorry. Figured it was worth a try."

She crossed her arms and looked out the window. "Well, you weren't very subtle about it." His smile grew. "I'm no spy, that's for sure."

They arrived at the Bifrost site, parked about 20 feet out from the mark, and pulled out the picnic lunch. Darcy, Erik and Jane leaned against the hood of the car and pulled out some of the sandwiches. "We have turkey and ham. Agent Organized over here made them, and they look pretty tasty. I guess there hasn't been any change here?"

Jane shook her head. "Just that slow rotation. It feels a bit like being on hold, like there's still a connection but there's not a real person on the other end." 

Carl nodded towards Agent May, standing stock still at the edge of the Bifrost mark, staring up at the sky. "Has she moved since we left?"

Erik shook his head. "No, she hasn't. We tried to make some small talk with her, but she wasn't interested."

Carl shrugged. "That's May. When she has something to say,  believe that she'll say it. Don't hold her silence against her - she's good, and you want to have her on your side." With that, he took two sandwiches and a can of water and walked over to join her.

"Hey May, what's shaking? I brought you some food."

She didn't move. "Thanks Yaz, but I'm not hungry."

He unwrapped one of the sandwiches and shoved it into her right hand; her lips twitched. "C'mon, eat. I slaved to make that, the least you can do is put it in your tummy."

She rolled her eyes. "Fine." She took a bite, and her eyes lit up. Carl noticed. "It's good, right?" She nodded.

He unwrapped the other sandwich and turned around so he could see the others at the car. Jane and Darcy were sitting on the hood sharing a clementine. "So, did you learn anything while I was gone?"

She swallowed. "Nothing we didn't already know. Jane has a romantic interest in Thor, but that was obvious. I think perhaps they're soulmates, but that's not clear. It would be an interesting wrinkle. She's very interested in the Bifrost, which helps confirm our suspicion that she's working on her own version. They are anti-cult, which we also knew, but again it's nice to have confirmation. They have complete faith that Thor will come back." She took another bite of the sandwich. Through her entire speech, she never took her eyes off the sky. "How did things go at the lab? Were you able to get any information from Darcy?"

Carl'd just pushed the last crust from his sandwich into his mouth, so he took a moment to chew and swallow while cracking open the can of seltzer. "I didn't really try. I like her, she's a good kid, and very loyal to Dr. Foster. I told her about my school experiment, and she was impressed, which probably means she has some experience of being the odd person out."

May rolled her eyes. "You do like to talk about yourself, don't you?"

Carl chuckled. "Hey man, it's all for the defense of Midgard." He grew serious. "I wasn't able to get close enough to see much of the equipment, but there were a few drawings pinned up near the desk that looked like some kind of schematics. Are those the same ones you saw yesterday?"

May nodded. "Yes. Did you get photos?" Carl grinned and tapped the pin on his lapel. "You bet. R&D should be able to make something of them." He paused for a second. "Also, she's afraid of you."

May didn't respond to that.

While they were talking, Darcy'd seen Carl looking in their direction and she raised her hand. Carl waved back.

"You like her, don't you?" May had almost finished her sandwich.

He nodded, pushing sand around with the toe of his show. "Sure. She's funny, and quick. Reminds me a bit of Barbara, you know?"

At this May broke into a sincere smile, thinking of Carl's youngest daughter, just 8 years old. "You mean she's mouthy? Talks back? Too clever for her own good?"

" _Exactly_. Just the kind of people I like." 

May's expression grew mischievous. "Oh, you'll like this then. Apparently, when Thor landed, he had a tantrum and Darcy tased him."

Carl threw his head back and laughed hard. "Wow, really? That's  _awesome_. I knew I liked her. We need to keep her on our side."

May nodded, eyes still on the rotation in the sky. "Yes. Yes, we do."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had no idea this chapter was coming, seriously. It was just like *pow* and I had to write it down.
> 
> I love Melinda May. That is all I'm going to say about that. I also think I kind of love Carl Yazzie, I hope he seems interesting to y'all as well. I'd love your feedback!
> 
> I know almost nothing about Native Americans, so please let me know if I've said anything that doesn't make sense in this chapter. Here's [The Coyote and the Woodpecker](http://www.sacred-texts.com/nam/sw/pifs/pifs10.htm), the story Carl mentions in his conversation with Darcy. And I think that this is probably the reservation where Yazzie's family lived, the [Pueblo of Isleta](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pueblo_of_Isleta). (EDIT: I just changed the ID of Yazzie's reservation; the first one was Navajo, but he's actually Pueblo. I need to pay more attention before I post, sorry.)
> 
> Carl's totally made up. I assume there was a "first Native American SHIELD Agent" at some point, but it wasn't his dad.


	13. Dreams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (Almost) everybody dreams.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all are going to get spoiled, you know. Three chapters in two days? Unheard of! So enjoy it 'cause this probably means I won't be updating again for a bit :-) (But then you are spoiling me too - 7294 hits and 316 kudos is amazing and wonderful. Knowing that people are reading and enjoying this helps me keep it going! So thanks to all of you!)

The five of them stayed at the Bifrost site until the sun went down. At about 5:30 the anomaly appeared to increase in strength, moving faster, but within an hour it cleared up completely. The horizon glowed a majestic orange, the dome of the sky fading to indigo as the sun retreated and stars appeared.

Carl, May and Erik walked slowly back from the edge of the Bifrost mark towards the car. Jane and Darcy stayed together, watching the remnants of the anomaly dissolve into the sky.

"It's gone."

Darcy's heart ached to hear the sadness in her boss's, her friend's voice. She took her arm and pulled her towards the car, where the others were waiting for them. "Come on, Jane. Let's go home, get some dinner. We can talk about all this tomorrow. Okay?" The older woman nodded silently, wiping away a tear that slid down her cheek.

That night, everybody dreamed. Well, almost everybody.

* * *

Phil Coulson would have liked to dream, but he didn't get to sleep. He spent the entire night in an on-and-off conference call with SHIELD Director Nick Fury. That guy was having a hell of a week.

* * *

Carl Yazzie dreamed of the kiva. His tribe was there, in ceremonial dress, and he was embarrassed that he had forgotten which ceremony they were celebrating. His father was there, and his grandfather, long dead. He looked down, and saw that he had aged, he was an old man. Then he saw the room was full of the men of his tribe from all generations, yet it was not crowded. It was comfortable, and felt like home. Then there were drums, and they danced, thousands of men in one kiva, it felt like forever and no time at all. Then he felt rather than saw the kachinas. They were there for their people, strengthening them, promising rainfall and a good harvest and healing and safety. They danced together, the men and the kachinas, until suddenly there was a burst of heavy metal music. They all disappeared, and Carl groaned and hit the snooze button.

He loved that dream.

* * *

Melinda May had issues. One of her issues was nightmares. When she dreamed, her dreams were full of blood, bones breaking in her hands, the soft crunch of things she'd rather forget. So Melinda May took medication to help her sleep, but keep her from dreaming.

She did not dream.

* * *

Erik Selvig dreamed he was flying. He was high in the air, over a verdant green field that went on forever, topped with a clear blue sky. It was bright, but he couldn't tell where the light was coming from, as there was no sun. The field was dotted with groups of trees, and bisected by enormous overhead power lines, held up by pylons as tall as skyscrapers. The power lines, like the field, went on forever. As he flew he could feel the warmth of the light, and the air blowing on his face, and his dream-self felt  _free_. And suddenly he realized he was dreaming, and then he became his dream-self, and he decided where to fly, how high, in which direction. Since he knew he was dreaming, he felt confident to try to fly among the wires, through the pylons, a kind of dream-flying slalom.  _I am free_!

His second dream of the night was much more mundane, and that is the one he remembered.

* * *

Jane Foster dreamed of Thor. His eyes, mostly. _They are so blue._ They were in Asgard. She didn't really know what Asgard looked like. The one in her dream seemed very much like the Asgard presented in a 15th century copy of _Bellum deorum et quae secuta sunt_ (The War of Gods and what followed), illustrations from which were published in one of the many books now strewn across the lab's coffeetable. She'd looked at that illustration with Thor, what seemed like forever ago. In her dream she had something very important to tell him, but she couldn't remember what it was. He was giving her a tour, showing her everything in the palace and the gardens which surrounded it. There were other people but they were like ghosts, unreal. Only she and Thor were solid, but even so all she could see of him were his eyes. Everything was so beautiful, but she was distracted by her need to remember the thing, and as the dream went on, for what seemed like hours, the urgency grew. But she couldn't interrupt him, couldn't say anything at all, and he seemed to be completely unaware of her growing distress. Eventually her dream-self started to scream, loudly and shrill, but it was only in her head, dream-Thor pulling her down another corridor to show her yet another golden chamber with another beautiful view of the mountains.

Jane would not remember this dream.

* * *

Darcy Lewis dreamed of the lab. She was in the kitchen, standing in front of the sink, and the water was running. It was dark, but she could hear voices. Male voices. One she recognized, but couldn't identify. The other... she strained to hear it better. It was deep, and smooth, and she  _wanted_ it. Two people, behind her. She could not move, and then she was moved, but not by her own initiative. She turned around to face a man. He was very tall, with dark hair, and he appeared to be wearing a suit. She found him attractive, but she feared him too. He gazed into her eyes; his were like dark emeralds, but with a spark deep inside. He was very sad, but his sadness was covered up with anger.  _How can I possibly know this? This makes no sense_. He took her in, his eyes flicking over her face, and her body. They rested on her lips, and for a moment she thought he might kiss her. Then, she was very afraid. Someone spoke from behind him, but she couldn't understand what the person said, and she couldn't see him. The tall man smiled, a toothy grin that might have looked happy, had it not been for the pain in his eyes. She said something to him - she couldn't tell what - and he seemed taken aback, even amused before that emotion was overtaken with more anger. He gently laid a hand on her forehead, and she knew no more.

Darcy would remember this dream.

* * *

Thor dreamed of many things. He slept poorly, falling into dream between wakeful moments during which he would lie in bed, eyes staring at the ceiling of his chamber, unsure if he were awake or asleep, alive or dead.

He dreamed of Jane. Beautiful, intelligent, kind, loyal Jane. In love with her world, and willing to fight for it. He was distressed to think of her, back on Midgard, waiting for him. She would be waiting a long time. In his dream they sat together, by themselves, on the sofa in the lab, a large book spread across both their laps. There was writing in the book, but Thor couldn't see what it said. As they sat together, a soft golden light began to shine from Jane's collarbone, and a line of glowing text appeared across it. A moment later, blue light shone from his right hand and a line of text appeared across his knuckles. They sat together, not speaking, but certain in the knowledge that _you were made for me, and I for you._

He dreamed of the War of Gods, the many battles, and the many adversaries. Mi-go and shoggoths, who served the Old Ones even as they despised them. And the Old Ones themselves (but never Great): Ghadamon, Gol-goroth, the mighty Cthulhu, he of The Call, the great tentacled bipedal dragon, and many more besides. Then there was Nyarlathotep, the Crawling Chaos, powerless himself but representing the powers of Shub-Niggurath, Yog-Sothoth, and Azathoth, the Blind Idiot God who had held his court in the dark center of the Universe. Where were they now? He had battled them all, with the other Æsir, who were relatively unaffected by the maddening power of the creatures who believed themselves to be gods. The other peoples of Yggdrasil were not so lucky, and the Midgardians were weakest of all. Odin, Thor and the Warriors Three had fought valiantly, along with Sif and thousands of their greatest warriors. Loki, their mother Frigga, and the others most skilled in magic remained in Asgard, using their powers to stabilize the Great Tree, and when they could no longer sustain it, they were forced to retreat. Thor'd had many dreams about the War in the past, and this would not be his last.

He dreamed of Loki. Brother, playmate, friend from birth, whose jealousy he had concealed so completely Thor had not even realized it was there, until it was far too late. _What have I done, what have I done? What else could I have done?_ Loki had lured Laufey, king of Jotenheim, into Asgard with the promise of Odin's head, and then slain him. He'd then attempted a genocide of the Jotens, using the Bifrost as his weapon. He'd threatened Thor, who had returned to Asgard so changed from his short visit to Midgard, had threatened to return to Midgard and visit Jane, visit Darcy, and his intention was clear.  _Oh brother, I will visit them both, your own woman and the other girl. I will ruin them, teach them why their ancestors worshipped us as gods_. Thor had done the only thing he could in order to stop the genocide (he told himself the other threats were meaningless): he'd broken the rainbow bridge, sending the Observatory, the controller of the Bifrost, tumbling into the aether.

Loki had followed.

In his dream, Thor watched Loki fall, over and over again. Heard his father's voice: "No, Loki." Seen the utter devastation on his beloved brother's face, seen him make the conscious decision to let go, after which he fell to nothing. And then again, and again, all the while screaming inside his own head. He wasn't even sure how he'd come to be in bed. Had it been his mother? He remembered nothing after Loki fell.

Thor always remembered his dreams. He remembered everything.

* * *

And Loki himself? Loki did not sleep, so he did not dream. He fell. Through the aether, and eventually out of time, and through dimensions, until he arrived. Arrived where, he had yet to discover. 

* * *

Others who have not yet entered our story, they slept too.

Steven Grant Rogers dreamed, entombed in ice. A built hero, a "super soldier," but in his heart he was still a scrappy kid from Brooklyn. He dreamed of Brooklyn, fragments of memory. News reels and double-features, holding hands in the theater, stolen kisses. Cool cloth on a split lip, gentle kisses to help heal,  _Sometimes I think you like getting punched_. His mother sick, his mother dying, his mother in the ground. Crying with sadness, warm embraces in the dark, cries of pleasure. And always, the words imprinted on the skin, arm-to-arm, visible by the streetlights shining through thin curtains.

The Winter Soldier? He did not dream. He did not think at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter is a bit of an experiment, trying out the frame of dreaming to get in some exposition (e.g., what happened to Thor on Asgard). Since it's canon I didn't want to take too much time going back over it, and the few changes (Loki's threat on the bridge, which I expanded to make more explicit and include Darcy) were easy to include in this format. I hope it's not too confusing what's exposition vs. what's dream content - please comment if you're confused. 
> 
> This format is also a chance to delve a bit into everyone's subconscious. It's _also_ a chance to give a nod to Steve and Bucky, who have been in the tags from the beginning but are taking their damn time showing up. They will, I promise! (See, Loki's finally showing up in person, sort of, and it's only chapter 12! Yay?)
> 
> Right, citations, because I'm nerdy like that. My idea of the illustration of Asgard is based on this, "The Construction and Destruction of Troy," Orosius Master, Paris, 1405–6. It's in Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Ms. 1945.65.1, fol. 66v.  
> 
> 
> I had to do a bit of research, again re: Carl's experience. A [kiva](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiva) is a (mostly) underground room used by Pueblo tribes for religious ceremonies, and [kachinas](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kachina) are spirits in the Puebloan belief system.
> 
> Also, Old Ones. So I've been calling these things "Old Ones". The official name is "Great Old Ones," but post-Restoration they stopped calling them "Great". And technically I think Nyarlathotep, Shub-Niggurath, Yog-Sothoth, and Azathoth are not Great Old Ones, they're another pantheon called Outer Gods (and then there are also the Elder Gods, which are again something else). So I'm including all of these under the "Old Ones" label, because the people in the AU consider them to all be the same thing, although maybe they're not. If you're really curious you can read all about it on the [Cthulhu Mythos Deities page](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cthulhu_Mythos_deities) on Wikipedia.
> 
> So I'd kind of forgotten that I'm actually on Tumblr. I'm almost never there (it's been weeks since I logged in), but I know lots of people who read and write on AO3 are on there, so if you like this story and you'd like to connect with me, you know, I might be encouraged to log on more often :-) I'm [saintleoba](http://saintleoba.tumblr.com/) (because I'm pretty sure leoba was already taken, boo.)


	14. Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The day after.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter for you lovelies! I hope you enjoy it.

Thor didn't return the next day. Coulson and Carl did come back to town in the afternoon, along with a big truck and a passel of strong-looking men. Carl supervised the men loading the Destroyer into the truck while Coulson came to the lab to talk to Darcy and Erik. "We'll be taking it to a secure location where it won't get into the wrong hands," he explained.

The scientist and the intern exchanged a skeptical glance, but Coulson chose to ignore it. Instead he asked, "Where's Dr. Foster? We were hoping to speak with her too."

Erik frowned, and Darcy replied, "She took the van out this morning. She's not answering her cell phone. We assume she's out at the Bifrost site, but we don't have another vehicle and we're too lazy to walk so we haven't been able to check."

"Darcy, she obviously wants to be alone," Eric declared. "I think it's fine to give her some time. If she's not home by sunset, we'll send out a search party. Okay?"

Darcy crossed her arms and sulked. This was an argument they'd been having most of the day, and they were no closer to settling it then they were that morning.

Coulson pulled a phone out of his pocket and pressed a button, putting it to his ear. "Coulson. Is Dr. Foster out there? ... Yes. ... No, that's fine. Good." He disconnected the call and nodded his head. "I have a team from linguistics taking measurements. They say she's sitting on the roof of her van, watching the sky." He looked thoughtful for a moment. "Miss Lewis, would you like a ride out to Dr. Foster, keep her company?" 

Darcy jumped at the chance. "Yes, thanks. That would be great. Let me grab some food and I'll be ready to go, like five minutes." While she was in the kitchen area throwing some snacks in her bag (no sandwiches today), Erik went back to watching soaps and Coulson went outside and came back with Carl. In no time she was done packing and steeling herself to go see Jane.

Her boss had seemed okay the night before. Not great, sad, but not, like,  _despondent_. She'd talked about spending the next several days digging into the data they'd gathered during Thor's arrival, to see if they could figure out a way to practically apply it to their existing hardware. She was afraid that they would need to modify the hardware, which wasn't terrible, but was more difficult than writing code. (Darcy'd seen the code, and she'd seen the hardware, and she was pretty sure she'd make the opposite choice, but then she was just the intern, so what did she know?) So when Jane had left the lab just after breakfast, without a word to either Darcy or Erik, it was worrying.

Carl held the car door open for her. She gave him a smile as she got in. "Turns out chivalry isn't dead after all," she quipped.

He laughed and shut the door. As he tucked himself behind the steering wheel he replied with his own smile, "I'm nothing if not chivalrous." They were silent as Carl turned the car and headed down a side street, avoiding the mess that was still being cleaned up down the middle of town. As they pulled off the road and onto the desert, Carl spoke again. "Hey, I'm sorry again about yesterday, asking you about Dr. Foster's work. That wasn't cool. Will you forgive me?"

She turned her head to look at his profile. He was half-looking at her, as well as he could and still pay enough attention to keep them on the path. She shrugged. "I guess. Just don't do it again, okay?" 

He shook his head. "I won't. I'll ask Dr. Foster if I have any more questions. Okay?"

"Okay." She looked out the windshield, saw the SHIELD vehicles and Jane's van off to the side. Jane herself was sitting on the edge of the roof of the van, kicking her heels against the back door, eyes on the sky above the mark in the desert sand. The sky was clear and cloudless.

As the car drew closer to the gathered vehicles, Carl spoke again. "Hey, Darcy. I want you to know that I like you. You're a really cool lady. And I'm not hitting on you or anything, I just mean that you're interesting to talk to."

She glanced at him again. His knuckles were white on the steering wheel, and he seemed nervous. It was kind of endearing. "Well, I like you too, Carl, in a totally non-creepy way. That story you told yesterday, about school? That was great. I wish... I guess I just wish I could be more like that sometimes. Like, be myself completely, not have to hide parts of me. Not care so much what other people think. You know?"

Carl relaxed. "Yeah, I know. It's still hard for me sometimes, too." He paused a moment, then continued as he pulled the sedan up next to the van. "Hey, I'm based out of Albuquerque. That's a few hours north of here, but maybe I could come back sometime, take you to lunch? We can trade stories about our crazy childhoods."

"You know, that might be okay," she said with a grin as she gathered her things and prepared to leave the car. "Thanks."

Once she was out, he gave her a wave through the windshield, then turned the car and headed back to town.

* * *

Darcy pushed her bag up and climbed up through the hole in the roof of the van, then crawled towards Jane. Jane had seen her before she got into the van, but hadn't said anything. Darcy sat next to her and pulled out a cereal bar. "Hey, bosslady. Thought you might like something to eat, and Agent Inquisitive was kind enough to drive me over to hand it to you myself."

Jane set her head on Darcy's shoulder, making no move towards the bar. She signed as Darcy put her arm around her and squeezed.

"He's going to come back, you know," said Jane. She didn't sound as certain as she had the previous afternoon, but Darcy nodded anyway. "Something must have happened, Darcy. Remember how it looked right before it went away?" Before the younger woman could answer, Jane had lifted her phone, already in her hand, and started playing a video, already queued. Darcy figured she'd been watching it over and over. Jane continued. "It's so thick, so white, and moving faster and faster. The Bifrost was working, Darcy, but not connecting to here. Somewhere else, maybe? And then it stops. Just stops." She sighed and brought the phone down.

"Well, what do you think happened?' Asked Darcy, as she awkwardly tried to unwrap the cereal bar with one hand, finally resorting to ripping it open with her teeth. They hadn't really talked about it, the night before. Jane had been really focused on modifying their Einstein-Rosen bridge. Maybe that was a mistake.

Jane looked down at the mark, which was covered with a cross-cross of strings suspended between pegs pushed into the ground around the circle. She looked back into the sky. She sighed. "I can think of three possibilities. I've been sitting here all day, trying to come up with alternatives, but no luck." She kicked her heels. "Okay. One, Loki won. Right? Loki won, Thor is maybe, probably dead, and the possibility for cooperation from Asgard is zero. I mean, he sent that metal thing, obviously has no regard for Midgardian life. Even if we can build our own Einstein-Rosen bridge, and get to Asgard, we'd have a battle on our hands." She turned to look at Darcy. "You're the Political Scientist. I'm right, aren't I? Realms don't take well to being invaded, even if the invaders aren't really invading and are just asking for help."

Darcy thought for a moment, passing over the fact that Jane just referred to her as a  _Political Scientist_ , not as a student. Fist pump, here's to being respected! "Well, that's not something that happens a lot, but yeah. I don't think Loki would be happy if we just showed up on Asgard. What's two?"

Jane perked up. "Well, two is that Thor won, but something's happened to the Bifrost. Maybe it's not meant to be left on for so long? Maybe the equipment that runs it burned out, or something? Or it ran out of energy? And they just need time to fix it."

Darcy grinned. "So what, they had to call in Bifrost maintenance? Change the battery?"

Jane giggled at that. "They had to do a hard restart, and now it's stuck in a reboot cycle."

"Dammit Jane, they should have known better than to run it on Windows XP." That got a real laugh out of Jane, which faded to a sigh. Darcy squeezed Jane's shoulder, and she offered the bar again with her other hand. "Seriously Jane, eat this. You haven't had anything since breakfast." Without another word, the other woman accepted the snack and took a small bite.

Once she'd finished eating, Darcy said softly, "So, what's three?" - but she was pretty sure she already knew.

Jane kicked her heels. "Three's my least favorite. Thor won, and the Bifrost is fine, but he's not coming back. But that just seems absurd. Doesn't it? I mean, Darcy, just before he left, before you guys got here in the car, he..." She swallowed thickly. "He said he wanted to date me. I mean," she continued quickly, "he didn't use those words. He asked if I had an intended. An  _intended_ , do you believe it? I just can't imagine that he'd do that to me."

Darcy picked up the thread. "Not only that, but remember how he was when he realized what'd happened here? That he'd left Midgard to rot, and we're fine? So broken up. No, Jane, there's no way that it's three." She paused. "Unless..."

Jane raised an eyebrow. "Yes?"

Darcy shrugged. "Well, Odin. He's king, right? Maybe he woke up, found out what had happened, and told Thor not to come back. I mean, Midgard still isn't really safe, right? Maybe they've cut us from Yggdrasil again. Or we're still cut?" She grimaced. "I'm not even sure if we got reattached or not. Bah."

"I don't know, Darcy. Odin loved Midgard, everything I've read said that he did, he and Thor especially. So I don't see him not coming to our aid now." She sighed. "Anyway, if it's either two or three, if we can build an Einstein-Rosen bridge to Asgard we might have some luck. Two out of three is good odds to me, so I don't see any reason not to push forward with it. So I think that's decided. Let's go back to the lab. I'm _starving_." With that she pushed herself up and headed for the hole in the roof. Darcy scrambled to follow.

As they settled into their seats, Darcy eyed Jane with interest. "Jane, is that what you've been thinking about all day out here? Whether or not we'd still be able to get cooperation from Asgard to fight the Old Ones?"

Jane checked her mirrors, then started the engine. "Well, sure. What did you think I was doing?"

"I assumed you were out here pining for Thor, hoping he'd come down and give you another one of those kisses. Seriously, Jane, that kiss yesterday? Yowza."

Jane blushed, and studiously avoided eye contact as she swung the van towards town. "I would be lying if I said that wasn't part of it. We are obviously attracted to each other, and he  _did_ imply he wanted to get to know me better. Romantically. Yeah... But the world is bigger than that, you know? If I had to choose between Thor and Midgard, he wouldn't stand a chance."

Darcy watched the vehicles surrounding the Bifrost mark recede in the rearview mirror. She sincerely hoped Jane wouldn't have to make that kind of choice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is fairly straightforward exposition, so no extensive scholarly notes today, sorry!
> 
> In a burst of inspiration I started a google doc of notes laying out the whole rest of the story. It's not a real outline, but at least I feel like I know where this is going, finally. Here's the expected order of things. Note variance with MCU canon:
> 
> Two more chapters (including a straightforward tie-in with the Lovecraft novella At the Mountains of Madness)  
> Third chapter from now will be the events of the Avengers film, from the pov of Jane and Darcy  
> Several chapters post-Avengers. This will be Tasertricks (yay!) but will segue to Darcy/Steve (Shieldshock?) (yay/boo? Depends on you.)  
> Chapters (one or two, I'd guess) on the events of Winter Soldier.  
> Several chapters post-WS. I'm expecting angst.  
> [note: through all of this, the Old Ones stuff will be gearing up, until...]  
> Elements of Thor 2. This is where it all ends, folks.
> 
> The biggest canon variance is that I'm switching the order of Winter Soldier and Thor 2. And lots of difference (which you're already seeing) just based on the whole Lovecraftian thing. 
> 
> Edit: just to say, fans of Loki - he'll be around through the end!
> 
> A reminder that I'm on tumblr if you want to connect: <http://saintleoba.tumblr.com/>.


	15. SHIELD Again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lunch dates and work, work and lunch dates. It's a life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm on a roll! Enjoy, my friends!

The following week, Carl came back to Puente Antiguo. It wasn't just to take Darcy to lunch, of course. He spent some time talking to Jane and Erik, asking them very straightforward questions about their work, which they would either answer or not. Mostly not. The distrust of SHIELD was high in their household, and after Darcy told the others about her conversation with Carl the day after Thor left, they decided to be very selective about what they shared with the agent. 

At about 11:30, they all stood up from where they'd been sitting at the kitchen table, and Carl turned to Darcy, who'd been sitting on the sofa reading a magazine. "Ready for lunch?"

Erik laughed. "Where are you going to go? The only restaurant in town is boarded up. Izzy says they won't be able to reopen until after the New Year."

"Well, if she's up for a bit of a drive, I was going to take her over to Roswell. There's a great burger joint, owned by a guy who used to be a chef in Las Vegas. Do these garlic fries that are to die for." He cocked his head at her. "Sound good?"

She nodded. "Sounds  _great_ , thanks. Just let me get my bag."

45 minutes later they were sliding into a booth and perusing the menu. Their waiter wore a black t-shirt with white writing on the back: "SOFA KING GOOD", which made them both laugh. They talked about not much in particular. Carl told her a bit about working for SHIELD ("Oh my god, some of these guys have such sticks up their asses. Sitwell? He's the worst." "What about Coulson?" "Coulson? He's a good guy. Funny. You want him on your side for sure.") and even talked a little about his childhood on the reservation. Darcy talked about college, interesting classes she'd taken, and they compared notes on growing up urban.

"So you grew up in Philly, huh? You know what we used to call Philadelphia down in D. C.?"

Darcy groaned. "I know. You don't have to say it. Please don't say..."

"Filthadelphia." He grinned at her. "Because it's so gross and...." She threw a fry at him, and he laughed and changed the subject.

He delivered her back to the lab by mid-afternoon. He made plans to return the following week (apparently SHIELD had decided to be up front about keeping their eyes on them, which Darcy could kind of respect), and said he hoped he could take her to lunch again.

"Today was fun, so sure. I'd like to hear something about Agent May as a little girl. Okay?"

Carl grinned. "That, I can do. So many stories I can tell! See you next week, kid."

* * *

Carl came back every week or so for the next six weeks. Within the first week the scientists plus Darcy had fallen back into their pre-Thor nocturnal schedule, so Carl would take Darcy out to Roswell in the mid-afternoon, leaving just enough time to get her back for nighttime jaunts in the desert. SHIELD had been working hard at playing nice, too. With every visit, Carl would bring a small gift: hardware they'd been wanting, new code libraries, and in early November...

"SHIELD satellite codes!" Jane was over the moon. 

"Just for the weather satellites," Carl cautioned. "But those will give you access to all of them, and they should give you lots of data relating to the geomagnetic storms you're looking for."

Erik was less impressed. "They're just trying to butter us up," he mumbled to Darcy under his breath.

Jane had been updating the hardware and software furiously, and by the last week of November they'd started running tests in the desert. Jane had measured an energy signature on the Bifrost sites that she thought might help boost their own machine's signal, but she wanted to be as far away as they could, so they did the testing where Thor'd landed, an hour's drive away. The mark itself had long been blown away by the wind, but the signature remained, apparently embedded deep into the ground.

The day before Carl's first visit of December they were having their weekly meeting, the one where they decided what to share with SHIELD and what to keep to themselves.

"Desert testing," Jane tapped her fingers on the table as she examined the tablet propped up in front of her. "Yea or nay?"

Erik shook his head as he finished chewing a bite of doughnut. "I vote nay. We've only just started, don't know if it will work. I say we wait one more week, and if things look promising we move forward alone, if they don't then we let them know, maybe see if they can offer some assistance."

"Darcy?" Jane turned to her, expectation on her face. Darcy knew that Jane was slowly warming up to SHIELD, and was beginning to think it would be better for everyone if they just gave in and worked with them. Erik was much more skeptical, and wasn't afraid to speak his mind. So Darcy had to tread carefully.

She thought for a moment. "Well, I think it might be a good idea for us to think about our timeline." Jane nodded. "It's the first week of December now, and Jane has to be back on campus by January 8 to teach her spring semester classes. You're teaching in the spring too, aren't you Erik?" Erik nodded too, a bit sadly. "So that gives us four more weeks in the desert. I think we all want to get as much done here as we can. I mean, there's a reason we're doing the field work here and not in Massachusetts, right?"

Jane hummed affirmatively. "The desert environment, the weather, the energy, it's perfect. There's a reason the Bifrost dumped Thor here and not anywhere else."

Darcy took a breath. "So, I think the best way to take advantage of the time we have available to us is to tell them, see if there's some way they can help. That way we can all be sure that we've done all we can, before we have to go home."

Erik conceded, grudgingly. Jane smiled and poked at her tablet. "That's decided, then."

Just a few hours later, Jane was having second thoughts. The three of them had taken a drive out to Roswell (the local grocery, like the local diner, out of commission for at least another month) and Erik had been continuing his argument the whole time. They were pushing a cart down the bread aisle when she finally capitulated. "I mean, I take you point. And three weeks, four weeks... you're probably right that another week of waiting won't make a difference. We can keep working when we get back, in my lab at Miskatonic, and yours at Culver. And I'll still have travel funds so we could even come back." She was obviously trying to convince herself, and it was working. "I think, then," she said, as she grabbed a loaf of whole wheat bread, "that's decided again, but the other way. One more week. So we agree not to mention it to Carl tomorrow. Okay?" They all agreed to keep it a secret for now.

Darcy didn't have the heart to remind Jane that, of course,  _she_ , Darcy, wouldn't keep working after they got back, because her internship would be over on December 31. She wasn't sure how she felt about that, honestly. She'd kind of grown attached to the job.

* * *

The next day, after Erik and Jane's requisite sit-down with Carl (Darcy eavesdropping, as usual, from behind a magazine on the sofa), he and Darcy headed out to Roswell for lunch. It turned out they were both foodies (although Darcy hadn't heard the term before, and wouldn't have considered herself one even if she had), and they'd been working their way through the best restaurants in Roswell. There were surprisingly many of them. 

"Yeah, you might not expect it, but it makes sense if you think about the tourists," Carl explained as they drove down the street, looking for a parking space. "I mean, it's not so great now, but in the Spring and even the Summer it's pretty hopping. All the nutty alien chaser types, with their money to burn. They gotta eat too, right?"

Later, as they sat basking in the glow of a delicious meal, Darcy sighed. Carl raised an eyebrow. "What's up?"

She shook her head, and rested it on the back of the booth, looking up at the ceiling. "Just thinking about going back out to the desert. Work, work, work. Lunch in Roswell is like the high point of my week these days."

Carl gave her a grin. "Happy to help. I guess you need all the strength you can get. Good luck tonight."

Darcy lifted her head and regarded him curiously. "What do you mean, good luck?"

He took a moment to pull the dredges of his glass of coke up through the straw. "You know, the tests." 

The blood started draining from her head. "Tests?"

He knitted his brow and looked across the table at her. "Yeah, you know, testing the wormhole equipment? Jane mentioned you guys would be doing that tonight."

She could feel her hands forming fists under the table. She spoke as evenly as she could. "And you thought you'd bring it up, to see if I would give you more information, is that it?" 

He noticed her rising temper, and sat up straighter. "Not at all, Darcy, just saying I hope they go well, that's all."

Darcy's fists hit the table. She was working hard to stay in control, had to whisper to keep from yelling. "Jane did  _not_ tell you about the tests. We agreed  _not_ to tell you. And I  _know_ she didn't tell you, and Erik didn't either, because while I'm  _sitting_ over on that  _sofa_ , I am  _listening to everything you say._ "

Carl looked her in the eyes. His own eyes had grown wide, and he stared at her, as though he couldn't look away.

Her mind was working furiously. They'd agreed to share the information in the meeting, but had changed the plan while they were out shopping. They hadn't talked about it again. The only possibility was...

"Holy shit.  _Holy fucking shit_. You people bugged the lab, didn't you." Her head was swimming. She felt sick.

"Darcy, let me explain..."

"Am I wrong, Agent Yazzie?" She was shaking with rage, and hurt. "Just tell me I'm wrong. Tell me how else you could possibly know that."

The agent pushed his lips together in a tight line and remained silent.

Darcy nodded, digging into her bag. "Yeah, that's what I thought." She pulled out a $20 bill, as tears started flowing down her cheeks. "I thought you were my friend, Carl. I told you all these things about my life, because I thought you  _cared_. And all this time, you've had us  _bugged_ , you've been listening in on our conversations, then coming over to talk to us as though it really mattered. And then this? Spending time with me, as though you wanted to be friends? Who the fuck does that? Oh gods, I was an idiot to ever trust you." She stood up and awkwardly wiped her face with a sleeve, then slammed the $20 bill on the table. "This is for lunch. I am going to call Jane to come and pick me up. I never want to see you again, never want to talk to you. If you come anywhere near the lab again, I will tase you until you shit your pants. Do you understand?"

Carl's face had fallen, and he looked close to tears as well. "Darcy, please, it's not like that..."

She leaned down into his face. "You. Do. Not. Talk. To. Me."

With that, she turned and ran out of the restaurant. Carl didn't follow. 

* * *

Agent Carl Yazzie sat by himself. He took a napkin and ripped it into many tiny pieces. He paid the bill, using Darcy's money to pay her half, as she'd wished, and left the remainder as a tip. He didn't see Darcy as he headed for his car. There was a public library on the next block, she'd headed in that direction and he figured that's where she'd wait for Jane. He assured himself she'd be fine.

Ten miles up highway 285, Yazzie pulled to the side of the road and took out his phone. He breathed for a moment, calming himself before dialing.

"This is Agent Yazzie. I did it. ... To be honest I feel awful, sir. I still think we should have just told them... Yes, sir. ... I appreciate that. Just, please don't ask me to do anything like this again. I feel like shit. ..." He sighed. "Right. ... Tomorrow? Yes, I can be there tomorrow. See you then, sir."

He disconnected the call, rubbed his eyes, and got back on the road to Albuquerque. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DUN DUN DUN. 
> 
> Any guesses what's going on? I'm curious to know if anyone can figure it out, or maybe it's totally obvious? It will all become clear, although it may take a few chapters ;-)
> 
> Before I can finish the next chapter, I will have to finish re-reading [At the Mountains of Madness](http://www.dagonbytes.com/thelibrary/lovecraft/mountainsofmaddness.htm). It's one of the more intellectual horror stories I know, so if you're enjoying Unmarked and you haven't read any Lovecraft, you might start with it (if you have suggestions for other good, smart, horror, let me know please!). It is the longest thing he wrote, although it's still technically a novella and not a novel (everything else he wrote were short stories). I think it may also be one of the least offensive of his writings - he's racist, and anti-Semitic, and writes very few female characters. It was published in 1931, so it's a bit dated, and his writing style generally is... interesting. It's the tale of an Antarctic expedition that goes seriously wrong, and the description and thought behind it is really wonderful (if you're into otherworldly horror and the pains of interpreting foreign languages), and I will be borrowing the shit out of it in chapter 16 :-D
> 
> That is a super long way of saying the next chapter probably won't post for a few days. So prepare to stop feeling spoiled, y'all! In the meantime, kudos and comments are always appreciated. Thank you so much for reading!


	16. Gifts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know last week I said I would post one chapter, then the next would be AVENGERS, but apparently that was a big fat lie. HOWEVER, although I have written two chapters, I am posting them at the same time. Ah _ha_! (They were originally going to be one chapter, but it was just too long, and too different, so I broke 'em in two.)
> 
> Hope you enjoy anyway!

On the day of Darcy's last lunch with Agent Yazzie, Erik had scanned most of the lab building with a device he'd rigged up with spare parts before Jane and Darcy even returned from Roswell. They found four bugs in all, and took turns pounding them into dust in the parking lot using a big rock that Darcy pried out of the ground on the edge of the desert. By the end of it she was tired, and sore, and covered in sand. Tears left trails through the dust on her face, and she desperately needed a bath. She still felt terrible, but she felt kind of good, too.

Following Jane's lead, Darcy threw herself into her work. She'd taken an interest in computer programming before, but now she made a concerted effort to understand the logic behind code - to understand not just  _what_ it was doing, but  _why_. She discovered that Google is a great tool for someone trying to learn programming, and within a couple of days she'd bookmarked enough websites to last her for months.

Four days after The Lunch a package arrived at the lab, via UPS, the return address a PO Box in Wilmington, Delaware. It was an enormous box, almost up to Darcy's waist, and heavy. The scientists eyed it warily while Darcy, never one to be too careful, used a kitchen knife to slice through the tape holding down the top flaps.

Darcy lifted the flaps and peered in. It was full of equipment, expertly packed, each individual item with its own cardboard shell and everything stacked neatly. "I guess Agent Yazzie is having some major guilt," she said. "Good."

After taking a quick glance herself, Jane grabbed a notebook and pen to make a list as she lined the pieces across the floor. Erik scanned each item for bugs as she pulled them out of the box. "Solid-particle beam apparatus... UV spectrophotometer... Nd:YAG... ah yeah, and solid-state lasers. Oh gods, Erik, this is everything we need, anything we've even mentioned needing."

Erik reached in and pulled out a shiny metal rectangular object, just the size of his palm, scanned it, and held it up to Darcy. "Portable drive." He said, handing it to her. "There are four of them. Here, take them and plug them into the old laptop and scan them for viruses. Disconnect it from the network first." He was taking no chances. 

Eventually Jane reached the bottom of the box. She had to stand on her toes, and even then she couldn't bend over far enough to reach all the way in, and she almost lost her balance. In frustration she tipped the box, allowing the last few items to fall sideways. These included two boxes of Thin Mints ("Hey, my favorite!" Erik exclaimed, then frowned grumpily), an iPod ("I assume this is for you, Darcy," said Jane, setting it aside. "You need to scan it for viruses," said Erik), and a small something that looked like a piece of jewelry.

Jane held it up for the others to see. "Hey, does this look familiar to you?" Darcy left the computer to get a better look. 

"Yeah," she said, the corners of her lips turned down in a frown. "That's Agent Yazzie's lapel pin. Why the hell would he send us his pin?"

The pin was round, and very small, maybe an inch across, but fairly thick. It was a Puebloan design, representing (Agent Yazzie had once told Darcy) the Avanyu, or water serpent. The decoration on the pin was black on a white background, divided horizontally. The top of the pin pictured a fan of eagle feathers over a smaller semicircle representing rain. The bottom half held a representation of Avanyu itself, tail curving down the right edge of the pin, head curving down the left, its head raised in the center, tongue reaching almost to the end of its tail. 

Jane handed it to Darcy. "I guess this is for you. I think he's probably very sorry for what happened." Darcy took it from her hand and stuck it in her pocket without looking at it. She replied, "He'd better be sorry. He can be sorry forever for all I care. Anyway, I think it's all turned out for the best. They spied on us, so they knew what we needed, right? And now they've sent it to us, which means they want us - you, I mean - to keep working, even though they're no longer watching. So the spying, and Agent Duplicitous's fuck-up... maybe it's all a bonus for us. We - you - get this trove of stuff, more than the Agent would have brought us in months, plus they're no longer peeking over our shoulders, and we know to watch out for them, that we can't trust them. That's all good, right?"

Jane nodded thoughtfully. "I guess you have a point."

Erik had been watching Darcy with a small smile on his face as she was speaking. "Jane," he said, "Have you asked Darcy that question you were going to ask her?"

"Oh! Oh oh, I keep forgetting! Oh gosh." Jane blushed, looking honestly embarrassed. "Sorry Darce, I just keep getting distracted. I've been meaning to ask you if you'd like to stay on with me next semester as my Research Assistant. RAs are usually graduate students, but you're already working with me, you do such a great job and I really don't want to work with anyone else. I know this semester has been really tough, and weird, and I honestly can't promise it won't stay like this. I assume now that we're on SHIELD's radar we'll stay on it, and although the testing hasn't been going well, this influx of stuff could help a lot. And I'm betting that once we've got it working they'll be knocking on our door again. And also, the job is only 10 hours a week, and I can't pay you much, but I hope you'll consider it."

Darcy was floored, and seriously flattered. "Oh my god, Jane! Dr. Foster! Of course I will. It's been totally weird, but also kind of fun? And I really like you. And Erik, too." She gave him a grin, and he smiled warmly back at her. "So, yes. Yes for sure. Thanks so much for asking." She gave Jane a big hug, too, and the hug she received in return was stronger and lasted longer than she expected it to.

The next three weeks were relatively uneventful. The desert tests, helped somewhat by the equipment from SHIELD, while they weren't disastrous, didn't result in a wormhole. By the last week of December they had ceased testing, and were busy packing everything up to be shipped back to Miskatonic, ready to start up again the second week of January. On her last day in New Mexico, Darcy tucked both the lapel pin, which she refused to look at, and the iPod, which she refused to listen to, into a side pocket of her carryon. She was heading home to spend the New Year with her family in Philadelphia. Erik would travel to Sweden to spend it with his soulmate. Jane would go straight to her campus lab, and would probably be working as the ball dropped. Darcy hadn't even gone on vacation yet, and she was already looking forward to getting back to work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The symbol on Carl's pin is the logo of the [Indian Pueblo Cultural Center](http://www.indianpueblo.org/faq/avanyu.html). It's both trademarked and copyrighted, but I'm going to claim fair use and post it here until someone yells at me to remove it.  
> 


	17. At the Mountains Under the Ice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please note that I have posted TWO CHAPTERS! I'm technically cheating, according to the schedule I posted last week, but I hope you'll forgive me. If you haven't read Chapter 16: Gifts, please go back and read that before you read this! (It is very short.)
> 
> Your kudos and comments keep me going even when I wonder what on earth I'm doing. Some days they're the only thing that keep me from throwing my laptop against the wall. So thank you! <3 <3 <3

The semester started uneventfully. Darcy was taking four courses - two requirements for her major, one humanities elective, and an 8am archery course to satisfy the physical education requirement - on top of working for Jane Foster. Jane was teaching one upper-level seminar and one first-year "Introduction to Physics" course. The introductory classes were usually taught by graduate students, but several of them were off doing field work, so it fell to those remaining on campus to pick up the slack. Jane refused to complain, even as she sat at her desk into the evening grading quizzes. Darcy offered to help, but Jane shrugged her off. "Your time is better spent analyzing that data from SHIELD and working on your code. Grading quizzes is mindless work, and takes a long time, but I don't really mind, because these kids? They're really good, almost all of them. So as long as they're putting in the work, I don't mind putting in the work too." 

Darcy held her tongue. She'd seen Jane teach a couple of times, waiting for her to finish to open the lab. She was a good lecturer, engaging, the kind who wasn't afraid to bring props to class or students to the front of the room to illustrate a concept. Darcy wasn't surprised that the students were working hard for her.

On a Wednesday towards the beginning of February, Jane was reading lab reports from her seminar while Darcy was trying to reorganize the cords behind the lab's computer bank. Darcy'd dressed for the work, her rattiest jeans and an old tee shirt, because damn. "Jane, I swear to the gods, have you  _ever_ cleared up back here? I think this dust is older than I am. And some of these cords are tied in knots. This one isn't even attached to anything!" The scientist didn't even hear her, she was concentrating so hard on her reading.

A hard knock on the lab door finally got her attention. It was Agent Coulson.

Jane greeted him cooly. "Good afternoon. What do you need from me today?"

"Dr. Foster," he said, ignoring her barb, "Do you have a few minutes to talk? Confidentially?" The computer bank was around a corner, and against a poorly-lit wall, so he couldn't see Darcy where she was crouched behind the desks. She held her breath. 

"We're alone," Jane said. "Darcy's in class, and she's my only employee at the moment." Darcy let out her breath slowly, and smiled. This was going to be interesting.

Darcy heard the snick of the deadbolt. 

"Do you have a table we can use?" Coulson asked. Jane made a quiet noise of acquiescence, and led him to the table where she'd been grading, pushing her own work off to the side to clear some space. Darcy could now see their feet from where she was crouched. The air was dusty and stale, and she hoped she wouldn't sneeze. As soon as this thought occurred to her, she thought she had to sneeze. Great.

Coulson started to pace. "Dr. Foster, what can you tell me about the Miskatonic University Expedition?"

Jane didn't move. "Why do you want to know?"

Darcy could imagine Coulson's expression, his resting smile-not-smile. "Just a routine consultation. It's only recently come to our attention, and we're trying to decide if it needs to be on SHIELD's radar."

Jane sighed. "I don't believe you for a minute, and I can't imagine it should be, but I'll tell you what I know. It's an antarctic expedition to take measurements of the melting glaciers, and also to undertake further investigation of the Gamburtsev Mountain Range. The mountains have been measured by radar, but they were hoping to get physical samples. They were thinking that the glacier melting would help with that, which is kind of sad, really." Darcy imagined Coulson's answering nod. Jane continued. "It was a huge deal when it was announced last year. They got a big grant from the National Science Foundation, several million dollars, and even more from the Nathaniel Derby Pickman Foundation. That's a local foundation, has a huge endowment. You probably know that. I heard a rumor that they also got some assistance from Stark Industries, but that was never publicly announced." She paused. "Have I told you anything you don't know yet?"

Coulson didn't reply to her question. Instead he asked another one of his own. "Tell me what you know about the people from Miskatonic involved in the Expedition." Darcy heard the shuffling of papers. "Dyer. Pabodie. Atwood. Lake. Danforth. Carroll. Fowler. Gedney. Moulton. Mills. Ropes." She guessed he was laying out photos of each as he spoke their names.

Jane was silent for a moment. "William Dyer, Professor of Geology. Bill. He's the Principal Investigator for the project, really wants to be the first person to get physical samples of the mountains. There's apparently an international race on, and he's in the lead, for now. The equipment he's using was purpose built by Frank Pabodie. Frank used to work for Stark Industries, which is maybe why I think they were involved. Genius, but a nice guy. You'd have to be, to leave industry for classroom teaching. Apparently the drills he built for the expedition were experimental, laser-based, very promising. We were together on the Faculty Council a couple of years ago." She paused.

"Why are you smiling?" Coulson asked. She replied, "David Atwood, Professor of Physics. He's the one I know the best, because he's in my department. A meteorologist, he was in it for the glaciers. You know they're melting from below, like hollowing out? He's what you'd call a climate scientist, I suppose, and he's interested in the melting process, and what it means for the planet. He's kind of funny, that's all. Asked for my advice a lot over the summer. I have issues with many of the faculty in my department, but not with him. He's okay."

Coulson hummed noncommittally. Jane continued. "Ronnie Lake. She's a post-doc in Biology, with a focus on Paleozoology. She's in the expedition for the fossils, interested to see what used to live in those mountains." She paused again, and Darcy tried to imagine the expression on her face, what it might tell about what she was thinking.

"Is there more?" Coulson asked. Jane spoke slowly. "The expedition was originally Ronnie - Dr. Lake's - idea. At the time she couldn't be the PI, because she was still a student, so she brought in Bill and David as support. Eventually she felt that Bill took it over from her, and David didn't support her against him. You know, Agent Coulson, it's hard to be a woman in science. You have to work twice as hard to earn half as much respect as a man, and some people don't care how hard you work." She sighed. "Ronnie lived this lesson, and it was hard for her. I don't think Bill or David were doing it to be evil, they just didn't think they had to listen to her." Another pause. "We have a group, Women of Miskatonic, which we're both in. That's how I know. It's not public knowledge."

She continued with the list. "Jeffrey Danforth. Ronnie's soulmate, as it happens. He's a PhD student in the English Department, studying folklore with Albert Wilmarth. You know about Wilmarth, I assume?" Coulson replied, "Yes, we do. He's the world's foremost authority on  _The Necronomicon_ , so of course he's on our radar."

Jane said, "Danforth had read it, according to Ronnie. She was a bit worried about him in the time leading up to the Expedition, to be honest, but he'd served in the Air Force, where he'd learned to fly planes and climb mountains, both of which would be useful skills. So she didn't push anything with him. I keep my distance from him, honestly. Wilmarth too."

"Have you read  _The Necronomicon_ , Dr. Foster?" asked Coulson.

Jane's incredulousness was audible in her voice. "Are you kidding me? People who read it go insane. I'm not stupid, Coulson." A beat. "I read half of it, Erik read the other half, and we compared notes." Darcy had to hold back a laugh. Of course they did. "Have you read it, Agent Coulson?"

He chuckled. "No, Dr. Foster. That's why we have consultants."

"Ooookay." Jane replied, and turned her attention back to the table. "These four, I don't know, but I recognize these two," said Jane, a quiet  _shuff_ and Darcy imagined her shifting photos on the table. "They're students of David's, but I don't remember their names."

Coulson replied, "That's Casey Mills, and that's Jennifer Ropes." Darcy'd had a class instructed by Ms. Ropes her first year, she guessed it was her first class too. She'd been fine, very young and inexperienced though. She hadn't seen her since then. She didn't know Mills. "The four you don't recognize are all graduate students. Arthur Carroll and George Fowler from Geology, Simon Gedney from Engineering, and Bethany Moulton from Biology." None of those names were familiar to Darcy.

Throughout Jane and Coulson's conversation, Darcy had been slowly becoming aware of her cramped state. She was crouched on her feet, and her legs were now fully asleep. She wanted to shift, to stretch out her legs, but she was afraid that if she did it would give her away. And, of course, she still had to sneeze.

Jane sighed and leaned against the table. "So I'm sure this is all very enlightening to you, Agent Coulson, but why are you here? What aren't you telling me?"

Again, the agent ignored her question. "It sounds like you don't have a great deal of interest in the Expedition, Dr. Foster. Why not?" he asked, sounding very much like he knew the answer and just wanted to hear her say it.

"Well," she replied slowly, "My practical concern, as you know, is preparing for the return of the Old Ones, who didn't come to earth until around 1000CE, and with reaching Asgard, which we've only just discovered isn't dead after all. My focus is building an Einstein-Rosen bridge to Asgard. It's all I want, almost all I think about. What interest could I possibly have for a mountain range that's been buried under three miles of ice for millions of years?" Darcy imagined her shrug, maybe an eyeroll. "It's not my  _thing_ , Agent Coulson."

Darcy watched as Coulson's feet approached the table again, and heard some more shuffling. That must be one fat folder, she thought to herself. He spoke: "Take a look at this, Dr. Foster."

There was a moment of silence, then, "Oh!" Jane cried out. "Coulson, this is  _amazing_ . I've never seen anything like it. Is this traditional artwork? It's an inscription, isn't it. But so sophisticated. I mean,  that's basically a star chart. You could seriously navigate a spacecraft by that." A  _shuff_ \- apparently Coulson handing her another photograph. "Wow, huh. That's different. Hmm." She paused for a moment. "That sure looks like a star chart, but no sky that I recognize. What are these doing inscribed in stone?" Darcy imagined Jane biting her lip. "Agent Coulson, where did you get these?"

"According to reports being sent back by the Expedition, the bottom of the glacier has melted in a central area of the mountains, and the water flowed down to lower points, leaving an exposed area, a kind of ice cave, miles across. Part of this exposed area is a plateau, on which survives the ruins of a city. These photographs were taken by Dyer in that city."

Jane took a moment to respond. "But... that's not possible. Those mountains have been under the ice for at least, what, 40 million years? There were barely primates that long ago, let alone human beings. And if these inscriptions were there when the ice sheet encased the mountains, they must be hundreds, maybe thousands of years older than that. And a city? Who built the city? Who made the inscriptions?"

Agent Coulson shuffled the papers again. "Does this look familiar to you?"

Jane Foster gave an audible, "Oh, fuck _me_ ," at the same time that a spider landed on Darcy's hand, taking her by surprise. Darcy couldn't help it: she started screaming. "AHHHH AHAHAH! Fuck fuck fuck get it off, GET IT OFF!" She twisted around under the desks, flapping her hand, knocking her head twice on the desk legs. When rational thought returned, she was lying on her back, covered in gross old dust, legs still under the desks but now pushed out straight, spider nowhere to be seen. Her legs, she couldn't help noticing, felt  _relief_. Her toes tingled as she wiggled them. Coulson and Jane were crouched over her. Coulson looked grumpy; Jane was smiling mischievously. Darcy grinned. "Hey, Coulson, what's up?"

The agent helped her up. "I should have known," he said. "You really should," she replied, shaking out her legs, patting her clothes and running her fingers through her hair. Coulson didn't even suggest that she leave the room, and they all walked back to the table, which was littered with photos. Jane picked one up, and Darcy took a peek. It was a photo of a picture inscribed in stone. The stone itself was light-colored, slightly grey maybe, although it was a bit hard to tell as a light was shining directly at it, and the surrounding area was dark. It was flat, and looked like the wall of a room rather than a natural cave. Someone's hand was in the picture to provide scale. The inscription was about two feet high. The subject of the picture was some kind of plant, maybe a fruit. It looked quite a lot like an elongated pineapple, only with a belt of stems around the middle. As Darcy looked more carefully, she could see that it wasn't attached to the ground, instead it appeared to have several feet, and the inscription - which was impressively well-done - made it look as though the pineapple-thing were actually moving itself along the ground. It also, she noticed, had wings.

"What the fuck is that thing?" She asked. "Jane, do you know what that is?"

Jane replied with excitement. "I don't know, exactly. I do know that there's an illustration very much like this in _The_   _Necronomicon_. Do you know about that book, Darcy?" Darcy shook her head. She'd heard  _of_ it, of course, but couldn't tell you anything about it. Jane said, "It was written in Scandinavia in the 1220s by some person who called himself Olaus Wormius. Wormius claimed that he translated it into Latin from Greek, and that it was originally written in Arabic in the 730s by someone called Abdul Alhazred. But that's not possible, for various reasons least of all that "Abdul Alhazred" isn't a real name and, you know, that's more than 200 years before the Old Ones even arrived. It's a kind of history of the Old Ones, goes into a lot of detail. It claims that they came to Midgard before, millions of years ago, when the planet was young. Some of the cults use it as a guidebook, but not many people actually read it, because doing so can make you go insane. I'm not kidding, Darce. We have a copy of the 1649 edition here at Miskatonic."  Jane paused, still looking at the photo of the pineapple-thing. "Anyway, this thing, or something like it, is in  _The Necronomicon_. It's - they're called "The Elder Things" because they're older than the Old Ones. They were supposedly here when the Old Ones came the first time, and they waged war with them, and won." Jane lapsed into thoughtful silence.

Coulson pulled another photograph out of his folder and placed it on the table. It was of another inscription, this one showing a group of the pineapple-things facing down an enormous tentacled creature, two-legged, clawed arms, with large wings fanned out behind it. Darcy recognized it: "That's Cthulhu." Jane didn't say anything, just whistled quietly. Darcy glanced at her; her eyes were big as saucers.

Eventually Jane found her voice. "I just... I can't... I mean... I have to talk to Erik. I have to talk to David, and Ronnie. Maybe get Francis Morgan involved? He's in Archaeology. Man, Ronnie must be thrilled about this, what a find. This changes everything. Maybe there are records down there about how they defeated the Old Ones, we can take them and..." She was interrupted by Agent Coulson. "That's not all, Dr. Foster." He handed her a short stack of photographs. She looked through them without speaking, Darcy looking over her shoulder.

These photos weren't of inscriptions. They appeared to be taken inside a tent. The first showed two people, both bundled up against the cold. One was a short, round young woman, wearing a bright smile, both hands flashing "thumb's up" at the camera - a bit awkward given her thick mittens. The other person was taller, thinner, older, and male - Darcy recognized him as Dr. Atwood. He was concentrating on what he was holding up, what was leaned against his hands: a real-life version of the pineapple-things from the inscriptions. He didn't look very happy about it. It towered over both of them. Coulson said, "Dr. Lake and Dr. Atwood. She estimated the average height of the things as eight feet." Jane mumbled, "Average height..." and looked at the next photo. That one showed a group of the things, stacked horizontally, like firewood piled against the side of the tent. Jane's hands were shaking. "How many?" She asked. Coulson replied, "Fourteen. Six were damaged, but the other eight were, according to Lake's records, perfectly preserved."

Darcy was beginning to feel sick. She groaned. "I'm afraid that I think I know where this is going." Agent Coulson hummed sympathetically. 

Jane swallowed. "Those aren't fossils, are they."

Coulson replied, "Nope."

Jane said, "They were hibernating, weren't they."

Coulson replied, "Yes."

Jane looked sick, too. She sat heavily in the wooden chair she'd been sitting in to grade quizzes just 20 minutes earlier. Darcy followed suit, pulling out another chair and moving the pile of books on the seat to the floor. Agent Coulson remained standing.

The rest of the photos in Jane's hand showed one of the things in various stages of dissection. Darcy really did feel sick. "Can you put those away, please? I'm gonna have to puke."

Jane handed them back to Coulson. "Sorry, Darce." She scooted her chair over, put an arm around her Assistant's shoulder and squeezed, then turned to the agent. "So what happened to them? And I don't mean the Elder Things."

Coulson replied, "The team had been sending out regular bulletins since their arrival in November, but the reports suddenly stopped about a week ago. After four days of silence, four of the eleven team members flew into the main international base in West Antarctica. All four were rattled, one had a complete breakdown and had to be hospitalized." 

Jane's hold on Darcy tightened. Her chin was shaking slightly. "Who were the four who came back?" For just a moment, Agent Coulson looked sincerely upset. Then his mask slipped back on. "William Dyer, Frank Pabodie, Jennifer Ropes, and Jeffrey Danforth. It was Mr. Danforth who had the breakdown." Darcy heard Jane breathe out, "Good." Jane's grip on Darcy tightened again, but she did not cry. Darcy just felt overwhelmed. Jane whispered in her ear, "You okay, Darce? I need to ask more questions, but you can go if you want." Darcy nodded her head, and said, "I'm okay, I'll stay." She didn't really want to stay, but she didn't want to leave Jane alone, either. She could handle it. 

They sat quietly for a few minutes. Finally Jane spoke. "What happened during those four days?"

Coulson started pacing again. "Long story short, Lake led a mutiny of sorts. They'd been moving around above the mountains for weeks, drilling down through the ice to collect samples of rock. About two weeks ago they were drilling in the thinnest part of the glacier, and part of the ground collapsed, exposing the peak of one of the mountains. A few of them climbed down, and discovered a cave. Upon investigation, they discovered that the cave led down into the heart of the mountain, thousands of feet. It was Lake and Moulton who discovered another cave, at the foot of the mountain, that was full of fossils. They spent a few days collecting and cataloging them; apparently they represented a span of millions of years of the planet's history."

Jane nodded and smiled sadly. "That would have made Ronnie happy."

Coulson replied, "It did. In fact, it made her so happy that she didn't want to leave. Dyer wanted to keep moving, get more samples from the rest of the mountains, and there was a secession. Dyer took the drilling equipment, Pabodie, Ropes, and Danforth. Everyone else elected to stay with Lake and explore the caves. They had radios, remained in contact. The day after Dyer's group left, Lake contacted them to let them know they'd discovered these ... things. She thought they were fossils, and treated them accordingly. 36 hours later, after spending much of that time trying to contact Lake's team, Dyer's team went back and discovered that the camp, which they'd moved into the mountain caves, had been ransacked. Most of their equipment was gone. The eight well-preserved things were missing, along with one member of the team. The six damaged things had been buried. The other team members were all dead."

Darcy was worrying her thumbnail. Jane was still gripping her, holding on for dear life. "How did they die, Coulson?"

"They were strangled. One of them..." He paused and looked uncomfortable, "I am sorry, but I think this is relevant. One of them had been dissected."

Jane frowned. "What about the missing person? Has he or she been accounted for?"

"Yes," Coulson replied. "He was found the next day. The things had taken him with them. Not alive."

Jane was nodding slightly, slowly. "Yes. Dissected. It's what Lake did, it's what  _I'd_ have done, too. Examine your specimens. They're scientists of the highest order, aren't they." She glanced down and touched the photos of the inscriptions. "Artists, too. Cultured. And they defeated the Old Ones."

Darcy could almost hear the gears in Jane's head moving. The scientist asked Coulson another question: "They followed them, I suppose? Bill, Frank, Danforth and the other one followed the things?" Coulson nodded. "Dyer and Danforth. The other two stayed at the camp. In fairness they thought they were tracking down a wayward team member. It wasn't until they found his body that they figured out what had happened." Jane smiled, a bitter, wry one, and replied, "But they kept following them, didn't they. Down and down and down." Darcy gazed at her, shocked. Jane saw her expression and shrugged. "It sounds pretty stupid, but it's what I would have done."

"They did." Coulson replied. "It was during this time that they discovered the hollow area, and the city. Dyer estimates that they spent sixteen hours tracking the things and generally exploring. They took hundreds of photos and Dyer had a video camera mounted on his helmet. Their trip was very well-documented."

Darcy was feeling so many things: sad, scared, overwhelmed, a bit... was that excited? And curious? She wanted to know how the story ended, and what was going to happen next. She spoke up: "So, what happened? Did they catch up with the things? Did they just decide it was time to go back to the surface? Are they asking you for reinforcements or something? What?"

Agent Coulson took a deep breath and let it out with a sigh. "They followed the things to a tunnel that led below the city. It was warmer, that far down. In that tunnel they discovered... penguins..." as he spoke, he shuffled through his folder and pulled out two more photographs, one of an inscribed picture of a thing with a group of penguins almost as tall as itself, and one of a couple of penguins in the flesh. Darcy gasped. "Holy giant white eyeless penguin. Ohmygods." Jane didn't say anything.

Coulson continued. "In addition to penguins, they found four of the things. They had apparently been in some kind of fight. Their heads were ripped off." He paused. "I have some photos, but I don't have to show those to you." Darcy shuddered, and said, "Thanks for that. So what, they fought each other?"

Several seconds of silence followed. Coulson cleared his throat. "It was a shoggoth."

Jane stared at him for a moment, then started to laugh, a manic, high-pitched sound. She released Darcy, and placed both hands over her mouth, tears streaming down her face as she laughed for several moments. She finally calmed down enough to speak, and to dry her face. "A shoggoth. Of course, what else would it be? Goddammit. Did they get it on video, then?"

Coulson nodded. "They did. I'm afraid I don't have clearance to show it to you, though." Jane raised her hand. "That's quite alright. If you can believe it, I have  _no interest_ in seeing one of those in the flesh. Lords and ladies, no wonder Danforth went off the deep end." She let out one more manic giggle. "Darcy, do you know about the shoggoths?"

Jane's reaction to the news had, frankly, freaked her out. Darcy didn't know what a shoggoth was, and she was pretty sure she didn't want to know. But in for a penny, in for a pound, right? She deadpanned, "No, I do not. Why don't you tell me all about them."

That made Jane giggle again. "Well, you're in for a treat. They were servants of the Old Ones. Stupid, nasty things who did lots of dirty work. No intellect of their own. The enforcers, you might say. They're described in several chronicles, always the same way: Formless, like jelly? Or maybe like amoebas, only much larger. Like, ten, fifteen feet larger. Lots of eyes. Strong. Fast. Able to change shape at will, form temporary organs as needed. They functioned both under water and on the ground." She turned her attention to the agent. "Sorry about that, Coulson. I was just not expecting to talk about shoggoths today."

Agent Coulson was unflapped. "Not a problem, Dr. Foster. To be honest you're not the only person who's had that reaction to the news. Anyway, that's everything. So we have four of those Elder Things still down there - unless the shoggoth got them, too - plus the shoggoth itself. And SHIELD needs to decide what, if anything, we do about it."

Once she'd calmed down, Jane had gone right back to thoughtful mode. She said, "So much to consider, Coulson. Analyze the photos from the city. If we can figure out exactly how they fought the Old Ones, it might be helpful for us. Might not, of course, since their physiology is so different from ours, but worth the time spent to find out. I wouldn't send anyone else down there, though, because of that shoggoth. I've no idea how they can be killed, _if_ they can, or if you could even fight them." She took another look at the inscriptions. "Leave the Elder Things alone. They're clearly a danger to us, but they are also enemies to the Old Ones, and that makes them our allies. The inscriptions might tell you how they reproduce. That's a concern - if there are four of them now, how many more can we expect there to be in a year or two? Or ten? But that's a separate problem."

Jane paused, running a hand through her hair, then continued, "The shoggoth is a bigger concern. I have so many questions. Where did it come from? Has it been down there for millions of years, too, or did it come from somewhere more recently? And if it came from somewhere, was it through a temporary rift or is one still open? Was it sent by something, or did it just get lost and wander over somehow? Is it a sign of an invasion, or nothing at all?" She faced Coulson. "You need to figure out a way to read that mountain range for a dimensional rift. I'll help you any way I can - Erik will too, I know it. Have you talked to him yet? You really need to."

"Agents May and Sitwell are with him at Culver now, having this same conversation," said Coulson. "I'll touch base with them tonight. I expect you'll talk to Erik as well?" Jane stood and replied, "I expect I will, yes."

Coulson started to gather up the photos scattered across the table. "This is going to be SHIELD priority, at least until we figure out what's going on. I hope we can count on you - all of you," at this he looked straight at Darcy, "to assist us." Darcy sat up straight. Since when did she have anything of substance to offer? She was still feeling the sting of Agent Yazzie's deceit, and wasn't sure how she felt about working with SHIELD. On the other hand, if there was a time to work together, this seemed to be it. 

They all shook hands, and Darcy walked Coulson to the door as Jane made an attempt to return to her grading. "Hey, Coulson," Darcy mumbled, "Can you thank Agent Yazzie for me?" He gave her a sharp look. "For what?" he asked. She looked down at her hands, which she was twisting together nervously. "For the stuff he sent. You know, right?" She looked back up and him; he was examining her face carefully. It made her uncomfortable. "The stuff," he said, as though he still didn't understand. She spoke more loudly: "The equipment. For Jane. It was helpful." Understanding passed across his face. "Ah, yes. Of course, I'll pass on your thanks." With that he gave her a nod, and took off down the hallway.

Returning to the table, Darcy sat back down next to Jane. She had a stack of reports in front of her, but her pen was on the table top, head in her hands. Darcy placed an arm around her and gave her a squeeze. She whispered, "I'm so sorry, Jane. So sorry. About your friends. About Thor." Jane sniffled and sat up straight, wiping her eyes on a sleeve. "Oh Darcy, thank you. Poor Ronnie. Poor David!" She took a shuddering breath. "But it'll be okay. The way things are, I guess. Maybe the Elder Things will be it, you know? And it's not like I have to stop working on the Einstein-Rosen Bridge, or give up on Asgard. That work will just have to slow down for a bit."

Of course, their world being the way it is, things didn't really slow down for a very long while. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooo. Yeah. Hope that wasn't too much tl;dr. We're now wandering off-canon, did you notice? (Off-MCU-Canon, on-Lovecraftian-Canon?) But next chapter will be the AVENGERS chapter that everyone's been waiting for! And I'm nervous and excited to see what kind of form that takes.
> 
> I've drawn from many different places for this chapter, and taken liberties with everything. The background story of this chapter is drawn from Lovecraft's _At the Mountains of Madness_ , which is a very strange and totally nerdy story (if you've read it, fine, but if you haven't you shouldn't be missing anything - there is a really excellent, funny synopsis [here](http://stephanmcleroy.com/2012/11/synopsis-of-at-the-mountains-of-madness-by-h-p-lovecraft/) if you need one. I referred to it in writing this chapter, and from it I've borrowed the pineapple-description of the Elder Things). Lovecraft really gets off on details, which I've tried to gloss over for the most part. He's also not very good at character development (the only characters with personalities in his story are Lake [the strong one], Dyer [the pushover], and Danforth [the crazy one]). So I've taken this chapter as an opportunity to make them a bit more interesting. He also wrote them all as men, which I've obviously changed, because I can, dammit. This is 2015, after all. And yes, Ronnie's given name is Veronica. I'm considering writing a one-off of the expedition, which would give me the chance to provide a bit more detail and delve into the relationships more. Would people be interested in reading that?
> 
> Lovecraft is all about the monsters. [Elder Things](https://www.google.com/search?q=elder+thing&rlz=1C5CHFA_enUS548US548&espv=2&biw=1349&bih=732&tbm=isch&imgil=53HawnJXAvVMEM%253A%253BrJMJgmfPkFJTjM%253Bhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fnathanrosario.deviantart.com%25252Fart%25252FConcept-Elder-Thing-256056652&source=iu&pf=m&fir=53HawnJXAvVMEM%253A%252CrJMJgmfPkFJTjM%252C_&usg=__6UaSRnKjxFc_p9OMblLEQIMW8mI%3D&ved=0CDYQyjc&ei=A2wTVcKIJcuTyATQ44KwCg#q=elder+thing&tbm=isch&imgil=53HawnJXAvVMEM%253A%253BrJMJgmfPkFJTjM%253Bhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fnathanrosario.deviantart.com%25252Fart%25252FConcept-Elder-Thing-256056652&fir=53HawnJXAvVMEM%253A%252CrJMJgmfPkFJTjM%252C_&usg=__6UaSRnKjxFc_p9OMblLEQIMW8mI%3D&pws=0&imgdii=_)! [Shoggoths](https://www.google.com/search?q=elder+thing&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=l2wTVeDiF4qHyATT14FQ&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAQ&biw=1349&bih=732#tbm=isch&q=shoggoth)! [Giant, eyeless, albino penguins](https://www.google.com/search?q=elder+thing&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=l2wTVeDiF4qHyATT14FQ&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAQ&biw=1349&bih=732#tbm=isch&q=lovecraftian+penguins)! There's nothing he won't try once.
> 
> This AU has the same geography of our world, so I had to change things a bit. There's no giant hidden mountains in Antarctica, as there are in the original story, but there _is_ a not-so-giant hidden mountain range, the Gamburtsev Mountains, which are indeed buried under ice. I have adopted them, because they are awesome and I love them. They have been measured by radar, see [Antarctica's Gamburtsev Province Project (AGAP)](https://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/res/pi/gambit/index.html) for details. And yes, [the antarctic glaciers are melting from below](http://www.bostonglobe.com/news/nation/2015/03/21/study-suggests-that-key-glacier-east-antarctica-melting-from-beneath/bHdvnCgezdZh9091pyFTwM/story.html), but I don't know what if any effect that would have on the Gamburtsevs. Needless to say my knowledge of antarctic expeditions is drawn pretty much entirely from Lovecraft himself, so I'm not claiming perfection there.


	18. Puzzle Pieces

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am what my preschool-aged son would call Liar McLiarson. 
> 
> I have no Avengers for you today. It turns out there was a bunch of stuff I needed to get through before I could do Avengers.
> 
> Apologies and mea culpa! But thank you as always for reading, and commenting, and for your kudos. I love them all xoxo

The next several months passed relatively uneventfully. SHIELD stayed in close touch, although Agent Yazzie didn't turn up again. When Jane asked Coulson, he said that Yazzie had been reassigned to a new unit and he was no longer based out of Albuquerque, but he didn't say more than that. Darcy didn't care - really, she didn't. The lapel pin and iPod were still in the pocket of her carryon, and if she ever thought about them (which she didn't) it was with dread, not with any sense of curiosity or interest. She wished they would go away (although she was unwilling to do anything to actually make that happen). So they sat, and waited.

The Gamburtsev Mountains were scanned by satellite, and there was no sign of a dimensional rift, so (according to Agent Coulson) SHIELD decided to take a wait-and-see approach with the Elder Things. Additional scans would be taken regularly, just in case. Jane, Darcy and Erik continued work on the Einstein-Rosen Bridge, with occasional assists from Coulson. Over the summer the three of them returned to Puente Antiguo for a month, to test new theories from the lab out in the field. There was some success, but it became clear that their current design would never work. Erik explained it to Darcy on the lab roof one hot and dusty evening, over a couple of cold beers. They had a cooler full of Alien Wheat, from some brewery over near Roswell (Jane had been horrified: "Alien Wheat? Darcy!" "But it tastes like sunshine!"), and hot dogs on the grill. Jane was still crunching numbers down in the lab, but she would be joining them soon (either she'd come up herself, or, more likely, Darcy would go down and drag her kicking and screaming).

"There's just not enough power, Darcy," said Erik, after taking a long sip of beer and leaning back in his lawn chair. "It works, it's not even theoretical at this point. Jane was able to reproduce the readings we got from the Bifrost. But even though we have it configured correctly, it would take exponentially more power than our current batteries can hold to keep the bridge open for enough time to get anything thorough it." Darcy was sitting in front of Erik, on the edge of the roof, her feet kicking the air. As he spoke she was drinking her own beer and watching the stars come out as the dusky sky turned into night. She tipped her head to him, and said, "You both seemed really happy this afternoon." He nodded, and replied, "Yes, today was the best test yet. The portal opened, for a grand total of 500 nanoseconds. Then it ran out of power." Darcy smiled. "Oh yeah! Good thing my laptop was all charged up. I was wondering what all that was about, you seemed really thrilled, considering how quickly it shut down. I thought you were happy that we got to come back early." Erik laughed at that, and leaned his head back, then continued, "Anyway, the amount of power we'd need to keep the portal open... well, it's more than I can imagine." He started to pick at the label on his beer bottle. "I have no idea how we're going to make it work." Darcy thought for a moment, then asked, "How much power are we talking about here? Could you tap into the power grid?" Erik chuckled. "And risk plunging the entire Southwest of the New World into darkness? I don't think so." Darcy whistled. That was a lot of power indeed.

It was only much later that Darcy would look back and see this conversation as just one of the pieces of the puzzle, and recognize other events and bits of knowledge as other pieces of the puzzle. At the time, she didn't realize these were puzzle pieces. She didn't realize there was a puzzle at all.

~~~PIECE~~~

In February, just a few days after Coulson's visit about the Elder Things, he returned with more photographs of the city under the ice. He assured them that there was a team of SHIELD-employed archaeologists and linguists working on deciphering them, but because of Jane's particular expertise he wanted her to look at those inscriptions telling the story of the Old Ones' arrival and their eventual overthrow. At Jane's insistence Francis Morgan, a professor of archaeology at Miskatonic specializing in the time of the Old Ones, was invited to consult as well. He was young for a prof, maybe a few years older than Jane (who had finished her PhD at about 25 and was really young for a prof), about six feet tall and lean, with floppy blonde hair that hung in his eyes. For the first five minutes Darcy thought he was kind of cute, and he was nice enough but he was also completely focused, barely noticed Darcy, and even forgot Jane was there a few times. He spoke with a Down East accent, all "ayuh" and "heuh" and "creechuh", but it was old-fashioned and sounded incongruous coming from such a young mouth. Coulson, Jane, Francis, and Darcy, who was included for reasons she still didn't understand, met in the evening, at Jane's house. It was a small cottage on the edge of Arkham, several miles from Miskatonic's campus. Jane thought that would draw less attention to their work. Darcy suspected that she was still afraid of being bugged by SHIELD, and that she felt it would be safer to have bugs in her home than her lab, since she was hardly ever there. But that was just a suspicion on Darcy's part. 

There were about 30 photos of inscriptions that William Dyer said were all part of a series from a single hall, inscriptions that told the story of the war between the Elder Things and the Old Ones. Cthulhu was the only Old One Darcy recognized, but there were others too, odd-looking things with even odder names. Some Jane didn't even know. It didn't matter. She was more concerned with an object that appeared in some of the inscriptions, and that seemed to be referenced in others. 

Francis had noticed it first. He was examining two of the photos, one of which showed a group of Elder Things challenging Cthulhu (the same photo Coulson had brought to the lab), the second one showed what they decided was some kind of planning group, or war council. "First, look at this one," Francis spoke quickly, pointing to the war council inscription (he pronounced it "wauh council"). "A table, or maybe a column, there among the creatures. I can't see it well, it's blocked by the things, but I'm sure it's there. Do you see it?" Without waiting for confirmation, he continued. "There's something on it, an object. I see a corner of it, here," again, he pointed to a spot on the photo, "Do you see that? Now, there are these lines above. Here. Ayuh?" Now he pointed to several wavy lines, quite far above the object, but definitely right above it, as though radiating from it. Jane nodded, then looked quickly to the other photo in front of him. Her face lit up with understanding. "Ah ha!" She said, pointing to similar lines above the group of things with Cthulhu. "There. Same kind of lines. Like they're carrying whatever it is with them." The scientist and the archaeologist grinned at each other and carefully went back through all the other photographs, searching for inscriptions with similar lines. Coulson sat quietly and watched and listened. Darcy brewed coffee. 

Twelve of the photos had the wavy lines. In none of them was the object, whatever it was, fully visible, and in none of them was it clear what exactly it was doing. With only 12 photos they wouldn't be able to figure it out, but that didn't stop them from coming up with theories. Jane suggested it was some kind of weapon, "Like a ray gun, shooting some kind of energy?" It was Darcy who pointed out the problem with that. "I mean, look at the lines." She said, pointing to the Cthulhu inscription. "If it were some kind of gun, you'd expect the waves to be aimed at him. But they aren't, right? They aren't... directional, is that a word? The waves just go up in the air. I think they're just showing the location of the object." Francis suggested that the object was emitting sound, or light, or some other kind of energy that was disagreeable to the Old Ones, but into the atmosphere generally, not in any particular direction. This theory led to Jane's next one, which was that the object was acting as an amplifier. She mused, "I mean, our Restoration was dependent on us doing what we do, just being human, and the energy created by that was amplified in some way by the Great Conjunction. Maybe their restoration worked the same way, only with this thing instead of a conjunction. It boosted their natural energy enough to push the Old Ones out." 

They all agreed such an object would, indeed, be a useful tool: if their theory were correct, if the object still existed, and if it could be found. "That's a lot of 'ifs'," said Agent Coulson as he gathered the photos at the end of the evening, shaking his head, "but I will certainly pass this all along to our team at SHIELD." 

~~~PIECE~~~

The discovery of the Captain, in the middle of the summer, was front-page news: BODY OF WORLD'S FIRST SUPERHERO UNCOVERED IN THE ARCTIC. Darcy'd freaked out at first, thinking his body was found during some campaign related to the Elder Things. "Maybe they found him while they were looking for the Elder Things' object!" She'd groaned. Jane had just rolled her eyes. "The Arctic, Darcy. North Pole. The Elder Things are in Antarctica. South Pole. Totally different end of the planet. So  _please_ chill out." Darcy'd chuckled nervously at that: "Ha! Chill out. Like, the poles are cold, so I get cold and chill out. Clever." Jane rolled her eyes again and returned to contemplating formulae for their summer field work.

Agent Coulson, who regularly came up to chat (although not nearly as regularly as Agent Yazzie, or with as much friendliness) had seemed rather perky, after the news came out, but he wouldn't say how or even if SHIELD were involved. He just shrugged, and said, "I'm a huge fan of the Captain. I have a complete set of his trading cards. Vintage. Finding him, laying him to rest, it's just exciting. That's all." Darcy overheard Erik and Jane gossiping about it over Skype. Erik, grumpy and skeptical as ever, was convinced that SHIELD were dissecting the Captain, and that they were planning some way to use his body to create more super soldiers. They thought Erskine's serum may have rendered him immune to the effects of the Old Ones - that was an interesting idea, but Darcy wasn't sure how useful a bevy of immune super soldiers would actually be, were an invasion to actually happen. 

~~~PIECE~~~

Jane and Erik had a Super Secret Project (SSP). The two of them... well, they started being really secretive. They didn't usually care if Darcy listened in during their Skype calls, and sometimes they'd actively include her, but just as the Fall semester started (not that long after the news about the Captain, she realized later) they started being more careful. There were fewer calls, for one thing. At first Darcy thought they just weren't talking as much, until one day she walked into the lab during a call, and they immediately signed off, although they were in the middle of an intense discussion. She asked Jane if anything was up, and Jane shrugged her off. "It's nothing, Darcy. Don't worry about it."

When it became clear that Darcy knew something was up, and that she took being left out as a personal slight, Jane sat her down over a cup of coffee. "I'd love to tell you what's up, Darcy, but I really can't. I'm not even supposed to know - Erik's risking a lot talking to me, and I know he's not telling me everything." She grimaced at Darcy's answering frown, and took her hand. "I can tell you it's exciting, it's good, and as soon as we can, we'll bring you in. Okay? I promise. We're a team, right? Secret Team Unmarked Searchers for Asgard?" Darcy smiled slightly at that: "STUSA!" Jane nodded: "STUSA sisters."

Darcy felt a bit better after that, but she was curious. And when Darcy was curious she did what she had to do to sate her curiosity. She poked around as much as she could, but Jane didn't let Darcy into the lab unless she was there herself, which made it very difficult to look at her papers or access files on her laptop. So she decided to use her newly-acquired programming skills to hack SHIELD. She didn't know that the SSP was anything to do with SHIELD, but it gave her an excuse to try. It turned out that the scripting languages she'd been learning were directly applicable to hacking, and there was an online hacking subculture including a small group dedicated exclusively to hacking SHIELD. She had some luck, nothing high-level, but enough to find names, project titles. She was surprised to discover that her own name, and Jane's, were nowhere to be found in anywhere she could see, but Erik was there, attached to something called Pegasus. She wasn't able to dig up anything on Pegasus, and her hacking network wasn't much help.

~~~PIECE~~~

Darcy'd had the dream at least once a week since the night after Thor's departure. Every aspect of it was now familiar: the sound of the water running into the sink, the sensation of being out of control of her own body, the sound of Loki's voice (even though, try as she might, she could not understand his words, or her own), the touch of his cool hand on her forehead, and his eyes. Most of all his eyes, dark green, with a spark. His eyes, and how they made her feel. Afraid, and attracted, yes but... like she could read him, and she knew what he was feeling: sad, so sad. Heartbroken. And angry. Angry that he was sad. She hated it - hated the dream, that she kept having it, hated that her dream-self was so certain about what lay behind those beautiful green eyes. She chose to ignore it.

The dream would come to her when she was awake, sometimes suddenly, sometimes covertly. Late one morning in mid-August, their last week in New Mexico, Darcy was filling the coffee carafe in the kitchen sink when she realized the carafe was overflowing and she had no idea how long she'd been standing there with the water running. She couldn't move, and she knew,  _knew_ , that someone was standing behind her. As in the dream she turned around slowly, not in control of herself, certain that when she did she would be facing Loki. He wasn't there, but Jane was, and she had a concerned look on her face. "Darcy," she said, "I've been standing here saying your name for almost a minute. Are you okay? Did you have a seizure or something?"

Darcy turned back to shut off the faucet, her hands shaking. She couldn't look Jane in the eye. "I'm sorry, bosslady. I guess my mind was wandering. I'm fine." She moved to pick up the carafe from the sink, but her hand slipped and it fell back, shattering with a loud crash. Darcy squeezed her eyes closed and took several long breaths through her nose while Jane led her to the table and helped her into a chair. When she opened her eyes Jane had placed a glass of orange juice in front of her, and was watching her carefully. She took a shaky sip.

"Darcy, are you okay?" Jane asked, concern in her voice. Darcy hadn't mentioned her dream to Jane. At all. They'd never talked about what happened that night, and for all Darcy knew Jane had forgotten that she might have played a role in Loki's visit with Thor. But here, in the light of day, it was clear to Darcy that the dream was more than passing, and she wanted to talk about it.

She started by shaking her head. "I'm not really okay, Jane. I mean, basically I am, sure. But. Remember back last Fall? When Thor was here. The night before he left. Loki visited. You remember?" Jane slowly nodded, then realization smacked her across the face. She grabbed Darcy's hand. "Oh gods, Darcy. You were in the lab. I completely forgot, I'm so sorry. I never even asked you, I was so distracted by other things... Did he do something to you? Did her hurt you?" Her gibbering distress made Darcy feel better, oddly, and she shifted her hand so she could stroke Jane's wrist with her thumb.

"I don't remember, Jane. Well, that's not true. I remember a voice. I guess it was Loki's, it wasn't Thor's, but I couldn't understand it. That's what I remember. But I have a dream. I had it the night after, and I keep having it. Same dream. And it comes to me when I'm awake, too. Sometimes I don't even realize it. And the dream feels real, like a memory, but I know that I don't actually remember the events in the dream happening." She paused. "Does that make sense?"

Jane's brow was furrowed deeply. "Can you tell me the dream?" Darcy did - the whole thing, from beginning to end, not even leaving out the moment when she feared he would kiss her, nor leaving out her own desire.

When she was done, Jane took a deep breath, then pushed it out her nose. She put on her thoughtful face (Jane does thoughtful better than anyone, really). "Darcy, why didn't you tell me before?" She shrugged in reply. "I didn't want to think about it. I hate it, Jane. I guess I figured if I ignored it, it'd go away. But it hasn't. What do you think it means?"

"Honestly, Darcy, I think the dream is what happened. I've read a bit about Æsir magic, nothing in-depth, just as part of everything else. Memory repression is something I've seen mentioned, and a hand on the forehead would be the way to do it." Darcy took another sip of juice, and replied, "So, I got up to get a glass of water and ended up walking into the Asgardian prince coffee klatch, and Loki put a spell on me to repress my memory? Nice." 

Jane smiled. "Your sarcasm is showing. And don't call it a spell, it's not like hocus-pocus. It's just focused energy." Darcy's eyebrows shot up. "Wait, so he rewired my synapses? This keeps getting better." Then she got serious. "So why didn't it work?"

Jane's smile grew wider. "It did work. You don't remember, do you? You just have that dream. The dream, I'd guess, is your subconscious providing a work-around. I've heard of people dreaming repressed memories, it's not unheard of."

Darcy was quiet for a moment, thinking. Then she said, quietly, "I hate the dream. Do you know what I hate the most? I hate the way I feel, looking into his eyes, knowing with absolute certainty that I understand  _exactly_ how he's feeling. How could I possibly know? Is that part of the memory, or is it something my subconscious is adding to the dream to fuck with me?"

But Jane had no answer to that question.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [If you need a refresher on Darcy's dream.](http://archiveofourown.org/works/3315230/chapters/7817204)
> 
>  
> 
> Seriously, guys, I'm feeling really bummed about this chapter. I was going to do a brief lead-in and have Avengers be the meat of the chapter, and it turned into this whopping thing, and I didn't feel like doing an enormous chapter, and I didn't feel like waiting until the next chapter is done to post them together (which is what I did last time). There's a very good reason for *why* this chapter is the way it is, but I will have to explain that in the notes for Chapter 19: INVASION (because what else would I call it?).
> 
> Just a couple notes.
> 
> Early on, on a whim, I decided that this AU takes place in The New World, not in the USA (although they are in New Mexico? How does that work? Don't ask me). Of course the logical outcome of this is that THERE IS NO CAPTAIN AMERICA (no America, no Captain America). So now he's The Captain, or just Captain. Cap for short. Damn spur of the moment decisions, coming back to bite me on the butt. (I also think that I need to change the AU's dating system - realistically they should be counting their years from the date of the Restoration, rather than from the birth of Christ, because of the importance of that event and also because of how the Old Ones have messed with religions generally. Oh well.)
> 
> Apparently in this AU Francis Morgan is from coastal Main; Down East is a traditional Maine accent. My grandfather was from Down East, and until I was in my 20s (until I saw Pet Sematary, actually) I thought he had a speech impediment (by the time I was born he'd been living in Tennessee for 30 years or more, but he never lost that accent). I guess Francis Morgan is a testament to my gramps. [Here's a very brief clip from that movie: Fred Gwynn talking the talk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAgPnx1hpPs). Francis sounds like that, but he talks a bit faster. Oh, and he looks like Matt Smith as Doctor Who. [Note: Francis Morgan is a character in Lovecraft's story "[The Dunwich Horror](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dunwich_Horror)," in which he helps defeat the half-human son of the [Yog-Sothoth](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yog-Sothoth)]
> 
> Almost forgot! I participated in April Fools Bodyswap on Tumblr. Here's my contribution! ([Link to my Tumblr](http://saintleoba.tumblr.com/))


	19. Invasion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Battle of New York, Lovecraft-style.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At some point Unmarked his 10,000 hits, and I was like, what?? And now it's over 11,000 hits, and I'm like, WHAT? I love your hits, and your comments, and your kudos. I just basically love you all. Thank you so much for reading this crazy-ass thing.
> 
> This just in: Alternate Universe is alternate.

Jane got the invitation to consult in Norway on the 14th of September, just as the Fall semester was really starting to gear up. It sounded like a good deal: handsome fee, private plane, working closely with a well-respected team. They invited Darcy too, which was a bonus. It was only for a few days - they'd miss a day of classes, but one of Jane's graduate students could take over her class and Darcy didn't seem to care about missing class. David Atwood's death (blamed, as all the deaths from the Expedition, on a cave collapse) had left several students in the department without an advisor, and Jane had picked up a few of them. The whole affair had been painful for everyone on campus, and she was very glad to have put that behind her. (Knowing what had actually happened didn't help even a bit).

Darcy was suspicious, and her suspicions didn't let up after their arrival. Everyone was nice enough, sure, but it just seemed weird. Very sudden - the call came in the early afternoon, and they were on a private flight out from Miskatonic Airport by 6pm. And when Jane had trouble explaining the parameters of the project after their first day of work - when she couldn't even explain what they were doing there - Darcy's misgivings pushed her back online, back to the mission of hacking SHIELD. The whole set-up stank of SHIELD.

They'd arrived at the Tromsø Observatory around 9am on the 15th, and were only given a few hours to get settled in their rooms and rest before getting to work right after lunch. By that evening Darcy was well exhausted, but also curious and kind of pissed, so she got on her computer to poke around in SHIELD's files again. Was she surprised to discover that the Tromsø Observatory's computer system was behind the SHIELD firewall? No, she was not. Unfortunately after a busy day of mind-numbing data analysis, on top of jet lag and a six-hour time difference from home, she wasn't in any kind of condition to investigate whether being behind the firewall would give her better access to their system. 

The next day brought them yet more experiments, data analysis, and in-depth examination of star charts, with Jane grumbling all the while that she just didn't understand the point of it all. By dinnertime Darcy was tired again, but her body was getting acclimated to the time difference, so she spent a few hours poking around - just to see what she could see.

It was enlightening. Her own name and Jane's still didn't turn up anywhere, which seemed notable. SHIELD had been surveilling / helping them for almost a year. They'd consulted on the Elder Things (even been paid for that - $500 to Darcy, a welcome surprise), were visited regularly by a high-level agent, and they'd been shipped off to some SHIELD facility, gods know why. She didn't imagine that their work with SHIELD was  _so_ secret - but what other conclusion was she to come to?

She was able to find out a bit more about the Pegasus Project. It had something to do with energy - nuclear, she figured, since Erik was involved, although that wasn't specified in anything she could see. She was... interested? Bothered? ... to see that Carl Yazzie was assigned to that project. Pegasus was hot - she could see there was a lot of chatter around it, but she couldn't get to it. She decided to set that as her focus for the rest of her time in Norway. Why not take advantage of the opportunity?

The evening of their third day in Tromsø, Darcy was eating dinner in the Observatory cafeteria (meatballs and mashed potatoes again, it was like eating at Ikea every day), and she'd picked up a takeout container for Jane. Even though the scientist wasn't sure what the project was about, she was spending as much time in the lab as she could, making herself useful. While she slowly chewed, Darcy noticed a small group of lab technicians a few tables over, all Norwegian guys, gathered around another laptop. At first she thought they were watching a movie trailer or something, given the sounds coming over the speakers, until she made eye contact with one of them. There were tears in his eyes; he looked terrified. She walked over to see what was going on. 

It did look like a movie trailer, only so much more confusing and messy, and low quality - looked like someone's cell phone camera. Darcy got a quick glimpse of Stark Tower - New York City, then - and there were crowds of people, running and screaming, and then something came around the corner of the building, a terrible, indescribable thing vaster than a train car - a shapeless congeries of protoplasmic bubbles, faintly self-luminous, and with myriads of temporary eyes forming and un-forming as pustules of greenish light all over the street-filling front.  It was moving surprisingly slowly, and was not attacking the people in the street as much as it appeared to be herding them. It gave an eldritch, mocking cry, high-pitched, piping, and _loud_  - "Tekeli-li! Tekeli-li! Tekeli-li! Tekeli-li!". The sound chilled Darcy to the bone.

Cut to another video, cell phone again, this one showing a group of creatures flying overhead. At first she thought they might be bats, but then the camera zoomed in and it was clear that they weren't bats. Nor were they anything else she'd ever seen, or could ever imagine. Pinkish-grey in color, their wings looked too small for their bodies, which were at least the size of full-grown men. They flew slowly. They had several pairs of limbs, and very large, round heads covered with antennae - they seemed to Darcy to be enormous, almost-humanoid wasps. They didn't make any noise that she could hear, and they didn't appear to be carrying any weapons. Looking at them made her brain hurt. Apparently it was having the same effect on the people in the video, only moreso. Some of them were standing still, just watching them fly overhead. Others were clutching their heads and screaming. Many were crying. Slowly, so slowly, some of the things landed, and started approaching the groups of people.

Darcy finally asked, "What's going on?" One of the lab techs turned to her and said, " _Invasjon_." She replied, "I don't speak Norwegian, but that word sounds an awful lot like 'invasion' to me." He nodded. " _Ja._ Invasion." Darcy watched, in horror, for just a few more seconds. Until a very familiar blonde streaked across the screen, crunching a very familiar hammer into the head of one of the bug-looking things. She sprinted back to the lab to find Jane.

* * *

Thor was not having a good day. He hadn't had a good day since returning from Midgard. During the days he was distracted - overseeing the rebuild of the Bifrost, assisting Odin with day-to-day tasks (made much more difficult without the Bifrost to assist with travel and communication among the other worlds of Yggdrasil) - but at night he would dream. He dreamed of Jane. And Loki. He would occasionally ask Heimdall about Jane, and the reply was the same: "She seeks you. She seeks Asgard." Knowing that she was well helped to ease his guilt, his pain. He held hope she would be able to find a path to him.

He believed Loki was dead. They all did; they had no reason not to. Heimdall could not see him, had not seen him since he fell. So discovering that he had suddenly appeared on Midgard was a shock. Discovering that he had appeared on Midgard as a servant of an Old One, with the aim to bring it the long-lost Cube of Power - that was horror. How was it even possible? Asgardians were immune to the powers of the Old Ones, were they not? Thor himself had done battle with Nyarlathotep on the Plateau of Leng, and although the experience left him fatigued he had never felt in danger of the thrall. When he shared these thoughts with Odin, he was answered at first with silence, and then with sadness: "Loki is not of Asgard. He is of Jotenheim. Loki was born a frost giant, the son of Laufey. He was left to die, as a babe. I found him during battle, and brought him home to be the son of Frigga. To be my son, and your brother. He only discovered what he was after your recent incursion to Jotenheim." Loki's newfound anger, his sudden hatred of the Jotnar, it all made sense now to Thor. 

Odin had sent Thor to bring Loki home. Far beneath the palace lay a chamber of dark energy. When Thor complained that he hadn't been told of it before, Odin replied only with, "There are a great many things I do not tell you, and there are some things I wish I did not know of." They were able to use Gugnir and Mjolnir to harness the energy, shifting Thor bodily across the planes of the universe. He sincerely hoped he would never have to do such a thing again. It cost him strength and will; he shuddered to think of what it had cost the Allfather.

By the time Thor tracked Loki down, he had already been captured by a small group of Midgardians, but they were unlike any Midgardians he had met before. Physically robust, mentally strong; built to be like Asgardians. They answered to Agent Coulson, and to another called Fury. Loki had taken the Cube of Power - the Tesseract, they called it - and had taken one of their own, along with two others. Erik Selvig was one of the two. Coulson assured him that Jane Foster was safe.

They wanted answers, but Thor knew nothing, and Loki was incapable of answering.

Loki was not Loki. His eyes had the blue cast of the thrall. When Thor spoke to him he saw his brother struggling beneath, but he knew he could never throw it off by himself. When he had first taken Loki from the vehicle of the Midgardians, and had attempted to reason with him, Loki's first word to him had been: "Brother..." Then he could see the tendrils of the Old One strengthening their grip on his mind, and he had continued, Loki's voice but not his words: " _Loki lived in your shadow, nothing to you, nothing to the Allfather. Now, he is someone. He is y-hafh'drn, servant and priest of the great Yog-Sothoth, and bringer of the Old Ones. Yog-Sothoth-nyth._ "

They could get nothing from him now. All they could do was keep him safe until they could find the Tesseract, and get both it and Loki back to Asgard, where their healers might be able to pull the Old One from his mind.

Of course, things do not always work out as you hope they will.

With information gleaned from the minds of the Midgardian prisoners, and through Loki's own knowledge and ability to control energy, Yog-Sothoth had apparently formed a plan. The plan involved using the Tesseract to open a portal to another place. Whether Yog-Sothoth itself was there Thor did not yet know, but many of its servants were there, and were making their way to Midgard. Now, Thor was high on a building, using Mjolnir to gather energy from the clouds to direct down to the hole in the river, the fissure between worlds through which shoggoths and Mi-go were passing - not quickly, but steadily. At the Captain's suggestion his plan was to hold back the invasion as long as he could, while the others made battle with the servants already through the portal.

* * *

Darcy came barreling into the lab, skidded across the floor and almost knocked into Jane. She ripped open her laptop, then proceeded to commander all the lab machines, which were set on a counter along one wall of the room. She was shouting, "OUT, SHIELD LACKIES! OUT OUT OUT! I am hijacking this room for STUSA. Begone, foul underlings! Leave us be!" Since Jane was alone in the lab, her little speech was less dramatic than she'd hoped, but it still made her feel better.

The scientist gaped at her: "What the hell?" Darcy, typing furiously at one of the lab machines, jerked her head in the direction of her laptop. "Get on there, open a browser. Go anywhere, doesn't matter. Any link that proclaims breaking news should do." In 30 seconds, Jane's full attention was on a video on the laptop; this one appeared to be from a news helicopter, which within moments was overtaken by the giant bugs. The camera cut out just before it crashed.

Darcy's jaw was set. "Talk to me, Jane. What's going on? What are those things?"

Jane was quiet while she searched for another video, but finally she responded, "Those are Mi-go. Servants of the Old Ones. Smart - not like shoggoths. They were an independent race, but the Old Ones took them over long before the War of Gods." Darcy nodded, then said, "Yeah, about the shoggoths. I saw one of those in a video a minute ago." Jane stared at her, the blood draining out of her face. "Yeah? Are you sure?" Darcy nodded again: "Yeah, pretty sure." Jane sat down heavily on a stool. "Well, shit."

* * *

Loki had become a spectator in his own life, aware of little except the hideous voice in his head, and in control of nothing.  ** _Yog-Sothoth-nyth y-hafh'drn:_** _You are servant of Yog-Sothoth. You are my priest._

Every once in a while his own self would push through the tendrils of madness, just enough to be aware, to realize what he was doing, and then the abominable one would pull him back in. It was impossible to tell how how frequently this happened, or how much time passed between each. He tried to remember. His brother - he'd seen Thor. Twice? Yes. Yog-Sothoth had trapped Thor in the chamber in their fortress in the sky, and had released it to drop to the earth. It had allowed Loki to watch Thor fall. Perhaps he was dead, then.

The Widow. She was the lover of the archer; he'd seen her in his head. His "soulmate". Her strength had surprised Yog-Sothoth. She had tricked it; Loki had come to himself for just long enough to gloat on her behalf. That had earned him pain, but it was worth it.

The Son of Coul. Yog-Sothoth had released Loki for seconds after he'd plunged the spear through the agent's body - just long enough for Loki to see the spear through his body, feel his weight and warmth, and to hear his dying groans. Then back to madness.

Over and over and over again. This now is Loki.

* * *

Jane watched one video after another. After several minutes of this, she glanced over to see that Darcy was moving between the lab machines, bringing up different video on each monitor. "Darcy, what are you doing now? What are all those?" Darcy replied without looking up, without ceasing her furious typing. "Arts collective at NYU has a bunch of drones. They've sent them out. Livestreaming. Lots of good stuff, if you're into this kind of thing, which I think you are. Look at this one. Anything look familiar?" She pointed to one of the monitors, and Jane walked over to take a better look.

The drone was high in the air, but she could see pretty clearly. There was a rooftop, and what looked like a control panel was lying on the ground. It was connected via several thick cords to a large metal-framed structure, out of which a blue beam was being directed down off the far edge of the roof.  "Fucking hell. Darcy, is that my equipment?" Jane yelled, "Am I supposed to be glad that it's working?" She pulled her cell phone out of her pocket, started to dial, then tossed it down with an exasperated huff. "No connection. Darcy, can I use your phone?"

Her assistant shook her head, fingers still racing across the keyboard. "Sorry, no. Won't do you any good, it won't work. Been blocked, I bet. Luckily, the Tromsø Observatory is old school. Phone on the wall, by the door." Jane hopped up and jogged to the phone, and had Darcy read a number off her phone while she dialed. He answered on the second ring.

"Francis! This is Jane Foster."

The archaeologist shouted, relief evident in his voice, although he sounded muted. "JANE! I have been trying to reach you for two days. Are you alright? I was so worried when they came to your lab, and then you haven't been answering your messages and I feared the worst..." He would have kept going, but Jane interrupted him.

"I'm fine, Francis. I've been out of the country for three days. I'm watching live video out of New York, and I see my equipment. I think it's being used to assist with an inter-dimensional invasion. I was hoping you might have some idea of what's happened, if you've been around campus the past couple of days."

She could hear him shifting position, then he answered, "They came two days ago, Erik, and a guy in a black suit, and ..." Jane interrupted him again. "Wait, Erik? Erik was there?"

"Uh-huh, and a guy in a black suit and another guy with huge biceps and a bow and arrow. They just cleared everything out. I wanted to do something, I really did, but they scared me. Nobody tried to stop them. Jane, they had the eyes. I swear, all of them. You know what I mean." It wasn't a question. 

Jane nodded anyway, her eyes still on the bank of monitors. "Yes, I know what you mean. I wouldn't have expected you to do anything." She paused for a moment, ignoring the knot of fear in her belly, just thinking. "Was Agent Coulson with them? Was he the guy in the suit?" Francis hummed. "No, not Coulson. The suit guy was dark-skinned. An Indian, I think. Um, feather, not dot." 

Jane's eyes closed instinctively and she groaned. "Oh my gods, did you really say that? Who says that?" She could hear him giggling nervously, then he said, "I'm sorry Jane. I'm feeling very weird right now. I've made a fort of cushions in the corner of my basement, and I don't intend to come out for a long time."

Jane shook her head. "Whatever, Francis. One last thing, did you get the black suit guy's name? Does Carl Yazzie sound familiar?" At the mention of her former friend, Darcy paused, but didn't turn her head. Francis answered immediately. "No. They didn't speak to each other, I expect whoever they are answering to connected them neurally. No need for them to talk out loud." Jane sighed. "Thanks, Francis. Take care. Enjoy your hidey-hole." She hung up the phone and went back to stand in front of the monitors. 

She stood for a moment, then said quietly, "They took Erik, then they took my equipment. Agent Yazzie may be with them. They're all in thrall."

Darcy ceased typing, brows drawn together. "Thrall? You mean they're under some kind of control?"

Jane nodded. "Yes. Whatever sent the shoggoths and Mi-go, and is probably waiting on the other side of the portal. I bet I know, too. Is there a drone at the portal? I can just see that the beam is pointing down." 

Darcy glanced across the monitors, and pointed to one at the end. "Here, Jane. Not a great view, but whatever. It's in the river. Is that the Hudson?"

Jane jumped over and shook her head. "No, East River. There's Roosevelt Island on the right. You can see the beam, coming down. I think it's coming from the roof of Stark Tower." She stared for a few moment. The bright-blue beam descended to just above the surface of the water, where it formed a hole that was almost as wide as the river itself, and which touched the west bank. As the drone circled around, high above the portal, Jane could see through the hole solid ground running at about a 45 degree to the edge of the hole closest to the bank. The ground was covered with shoggoth and Mi-go, slowly making their way to the edge and tipping through the portal. As they watched, bolts of lightning shot down from the sky, electrifying the water and causing all the creatures passing through to erupt in fire. It was very effective. 

Jane laughed. Darcy smiled too. "That's probably Thor. Um, did I mention Thor?" Jane was surprised. "Thor? Why would Thor be here?"

It was a rhetorical question, but Darcy answered anyway. "Magic 8-ball says it's Loki." Jane started: "Wait, Loki? Magic 8-ball?"

Darcy grinned at her and pointed to the monitor of the computer she was currently working on. "Magic 8-ball, also known as hacking into SHIELD. I'm having much better luck tonight than I have before." 

"Wait. Darcy, you've hacked SHIELD before?" 

She nodded. "Yup, just a couple times. We're behind the firewall here, which is helping. Also the network is going a bit nuts. Not important right now. What is important: Three days ago, Loki showed up in some super-secret SHIELD lab. He took three people: Erik Selvig, Carl Yazzie, and someone named Clint Barton. Codename: Hawkeye. Who gets official codenames, anyway?" She shrugged at her own question. "He also took something called the Tesseract, which is described as, quote, 'a multi-dimensional cube of unlimited energy. Made of an unknown material. Highly unstable.'" She scoffed. "Gosh, messing with that that doesn't sound like a bad idea _at all_."

Darcy kept her eyes on her screen, and didn't see the guilty expression that passed across Jane's face.

A moment later Jane's gaze was distracted by movement on one of the other screens. She said, "Hey Darcy, here's another one. He looks..." She trailed off, and Darcy glanced up to see what she was talking about. Darcy gasped, then froze. 

It was Loki. It was definitely Loki, although he looked very different from how he had in her dream. Instead of a suit he was wearing some kind of leather and gold armor, with a dark green cape, as well as an immense gold helmet with long horns curling back behind it. The drone wasn't very close to him, but even so Darcy could tell his clothes were filthy. His face had an ugly pallor, the color of old bones, with purple bruises under his eyes. His smile was the smile of a madman who was just gearing up to kill you; Darcy shuddered. But his eyes were the worst, glowing faintly with light that reminded her of the light in the Dead Marshes in the Fellowship of the Ring movie. If he hadn't have been up and moving around, Darcy'd thought he was dead. He was riding on the back of a Mi-go, holding onto it's neck with one hand while brandishing a spear with his other hand. A crystal embedded in the end of the spear glowed with the same deathly light as his eyes. 

As they watched, Loki looked directly at the camera, then pointed his spear. There was a flash of blue light, and the screen went dark.

* * *

Steve Rogers wasn't having a great day either. He was alive, for which he supposed he should be thankful, but it was rough. Spending the past 70 years dreaming of Brooklyn and all that entailed did not prepare him for the 21st century. He missed Peggy, he was in mourning for Bucky, and he didn't have anybody to talk to. Well, SHIELD-provided psychologists, but they weren't the same as friends.

In the few months since he woke up, once he got over the initial shock, aside from being lonely, he'd just been bored. Boredom led to too much thinking, which he really wanted to avoid - counselors be damned. So he started looking for something to do. SHIELD had been having a field day with him; testing his blood, mostly, and running other various tests - physical, and mental, and psychological, and whatever else - and he was, frankly, sick of feeling like a lab rat. He spent most of his non-lab time in the gym, but eventually it hit a point where his effort fed his frustration instead of easing it. You can only break so many punching bags before you realize that the problem isn't the punching bag. He'd started a list of things to try, but so many of them were things you didn't want to do by yourself, and all his friends were dead or in the nursing home, and do _you_ want to go to the Disco with Director Fury? He was on his own, and most of the time he was bored, bored, bored.

Today he was busy, but honestly? He'd rather go back to being bored, even with the thoughts that came with it. Maybe he could take a day once this was over. Right now, Steve Rogers was trying to keep his head on-task, trying not to get distracted by the silence. Because this battle was eerie in its silence. It was helpful, on one hand, you could hear the shoggoth coming (although their cry, "Tekeli-li! Tekeli-li!" gave him the creeps every single time) but on the other hand, the Mi-go were right sneaky. The buzzing sound they made was just too quiet to be heard from very far away, and they were able to mimic the sounds of human speech. They couldn't speak any language he knew, but hearing the voice of a woman, or a kid, or even a man, coming from one of those things? Damn creepy. They didn't carry weapons, they were weapons - slow-moving bombs, only instead of exploding and killing you they'd get close to you and relieve you of your sanity. The shoggoths were no better; they could move very fast, if they needed to, but their main purpose seemed to be crowd control. They would corral people, and then the Mi-go would work their eldritch wizardry. Luckily - very luckily - Dr. Erskine's serum rendered Steve immune to their power, but they were still remarkably unpleasant. Yeah, Steve had definitely had better days.

All the other members of the team - except for Thor, who didn't need it, and even Bruce, who probably didn't need it either - had been given an injection hastily derived from Steve's blood. It hadn't been tested, but the hope was that it would render them immune too, or at least strengthen them to the madness. So far it was working out, but Steve was checking on his team constantly, just to make sure. Just a minute before he'd given Natasha a boost up to a Mi-go, and he was worried about her.

"Talk to me, Nat. How are you feeling up there?"

A pause, then Natasha Romanova's voice came over the com. "Fine, Captain. I'd be better if this thing didn't stink so much."

"You sound strained. How's your head?"

"Head's fine. Strained because this thing is strong. I'm, uh, trying to help it steer. It doesn't want my help. They're slow, but don't let that fool you. I'm gonna try to get this to take me up to the roof."

She did sound fine. Steve tried another one. "Stark, you hear me? What's your status?"

Tony Stark came on the com, sounding exactly as usual. That is, like a cocky asshole. "You ever watch Game of Thrones?"

"What? Stark, what is your status?"

"Oh, I'm fine. I was just thinking, Game of Thrones. The TV show? It's a lot like Thor, but instead of a magic hammer they have dragons and sex."

Steve shook his head, then took a minute to tackle a couple of Mi-go who had come around a corner. Natasha was right, they were strong, but they weren't built for fighting and if you could get around their mental effects they were easy to kill.

Clearly, Stark was fine. Steve moved on to his next charge.

"Barton, check in. You feeling okay?"

Over the regular swish of the bow, Clint Barton replied, "I'm feeling like a million dollars, Cap. Things are fine up here, happily my arrows appear to be pretty damn effective against these flying things. And I just watched Hulk rip apart one of those, uh, whatever they are. The big ones."

"Shoggoth."

"Yeah, that. So he's fine. I don't see Thor. But, uh, think you want to check out the bank on 42nd past Madison. Looks like a couple of those shoggoths are gathering a bunch of people in there."

Steve turned and headed down the street. "On my way. Any of you guys start to feel the least bit strange, let me know."

* * *

Loki was dimly aware of another interaction with his brother, but he had not been allowed to observe until Yog-Sothoth stabbed him with one of Loki's own daggers. Oh yes, the abominable one allowed him to see that.

 ** _Y-hafh'drn c-chtenff ilyaa uln-aglli'hee n'ghft li'hee n'gha:_** _My priest, our fellowship awaits the summoning call, on pain of darkness, on pain of death._  As though he had a choice.

Suddenly Loki was hit, very hard, and was granted a moment of complete awareness, very sweet, before Yog-Sothoth pulled him back. The Hulk had flown up to the top of the tower and crashed with him through the window into the home of Tony Stark; it seemed vaguely familiar, and he supposed the abominable one must have taken him there before. He heard his body cry out in Yog-Sothoth's words: " ** _Mnahn'gof'nn. Ya gnaiih y-hafh'drn uln..._** " _Worthless children. I am your father, my priest summons..._  at this the Hulk picked him up by the legs and smashed him into the floor, over and over again, and finally threw him down and lumbered off with a huffed, "Puny god." Loki couldn't help but agree.

He hurt. His body  _hurt_. But his head was clear. He lay there for several minutes, waiting for the tendrils of madness to return, but they didn't. So Loki lay, in physical pain and in the comfort of his own mind, and wept.

* * *

Jane was still watching the battle unfold through the magic of the livestreaming drones. One more of them had been knocked out of the air, but the other three were going strong. Mi-go and shoggoths were still making their way through the portal; Thor hadn't been able to keep up the electrical storm for more than ten minutes. At one point Jane thought she saw something behind them - something very large, and hard to see against the background of a navy-blue alien sky, but she couldn't be absolutely sure. She'd taken note of several people besides Thor who were battling the servants, and Darcy was trying to see if she could figure out who they were.

"Ah ha!" Darcy gave a cry of success, and Jane pulled herself away from the monitors to look over her shoulders. "Here we are, bosslady. Thor's friends are part of The Avengers Initiative. 'Midgard's mightiest heroes,' that's a quote. Good grief, I bet Coulson wrote that. So cheesy. Anyway. They are: Tony Stark, codename Iron Man," Jane nodded, and said, "We recognized him." Darcy continued. "Natalia Romanova, codename Black Widow." Jane grinned. "She's the one who was riding the Mi-go. What a badass." Darcy grunted in agreement. "Definitely. Okay, then there's Clint Barton, codename Hawkeye. Hey, wait a minute. Clint Barton was one of the people taken by Loki, from the SHIELD lab. He's the archer, did you see his eyes? Did he look thralled to you?" Jane shook her head. "He was definitely fine. That's good, I guess. They found a way to, um, unthrall them." Darcy looked at her quizzically. "Do you have any idea how, Jane?" Jane shrugged. "No clue. The chronicles are silent on it. Well, death, I guess, but that's a bit extreme." Darcy sighed.

"Okay. Next is Dr. Bruce Banner." Jane jumped in, "Wait, Bruce Banner? He used to work at Culver, with Erik. Nuclear physicist. He retired a few years ago, there was some kind of scandal that was hushed up. Erik's never even talked about it. What is he doing with this group?" Darcy scanned the information quickly. "Um, apparently when he gets angry he turns into a monster. His codename is Hulk, which makes some sense. So that big green dude? That's Banner." Jane turned back to the monitors just in time to see the green dude in question fly up and into the windows of the Stark Tower penthouse. She shivered. "Great, Darcy. Is that everyone?"

Darcy paused. "There's one more name, but you're not going to believe it.  _I_ don't believe it. Man, Coulson is a pretty good liar." Jane groaned in frustration. "Darcy, come on. Who?" Darcy turned the laptop so Jane could see the photo on the screen, enlarged for her viewing pleasure. "Steven Grant Motherfucking Rogers. The one, the only, the original Captain. He lives, Jane. Looks really good, too, for an old guy. He's leading the team. Have you seen him on the big screens?"

Jane shook her head, then paused. "Hey, wait. There. He's just gone into that building. It's surrounded by shoggoths. That's amazing.  _He's_ amazing. They're all amazing. Darcy, they're all fine. The only weapon the Mi-go have is the ability to cause madness, and they - the Avengers - all appear to be immune. That's... incredible. I wonder how they did it."

Darcy shrugged. Her typing had slowed, and she was now leaning back with her feet on the counter, laptop propped on her lap. "Maybe if they can get that portal closed, we'll get to find out." She glanced quickly at the monitors, then popped up. "Hey! Movement on the roof!" They could see someone, near the equipment. It was Erik Selvig. Jane grimaced. "He looks awful, like he hasn't slept or bathed in a week. And look at that wound on his forehead. That's gonna leave a nasty bruise."

Darcy nodded slowly, and replied, "Yeah, but on the other hand, his eyes look normal. So that's good." Jane nodded too, and her eyes lit up, but she didn't say anything.

Within a few minutes, Erik had a friend. Darcy smiled. "It's the badass chick. Natalia Romanova, right? I wonder if she's friends with Agent May, they could kick ass together." Natasha was holding the spear that they'd seen Loki holding earlier, and as they watched she pushed it towards the center of the structure. Jane grabbed Darcy's hand, and whispered, "Do you think she'll close it? It looks like she's trying to close it." Suddenly Romanova stopped moving, and both women shouted.

"Why doesn't she try?" Darcy cried out, then she shouted at the screen, "Come on Natalia! Close it! They're still coming through!!" - as though she could hear her.

As Darcy shouted at the screen, Jane looked at the other two that were still live, to see what was going on. One of them showed Thor and the Captain fighting a couple of shoggoths while a group of Mi-go buzzed around. They were doing well, but there were just so many to fight. She did take a moment just to watch Thor move; it was a nice distraction. Then she moved to the third screen, which showed the portal, still vomiting out servants of the Old Ones.

Very suddenly, something flew in from the left and went into the portal. It was red, and gold, and carrying something that looked suspiciously like a missile. Jane started bouncing up and down and waving her hands at Darcy. "Iron Man," she spat out. "Into the portal."

Darcy stood up. "Iron Man flew into the portal?"

Jane replied, "Yup. I think he had a missile with him." At this they both grinned, and Darcy did a little dance and sang, "Ah yeah, gonna nuke the Old One. They should learn not to fuck with us."

Within 10 seconds, Iron Man flew out of the portal, and it closed immediately behind him. On the roof, Natalia threw down the spear and collapsed. 

Jane and Darcy jumped up and down and cheered. Maybe it would be okay, after all.

* * *

Stark flew directly to the penthouse, dodging retreating Mi-go along the way. As soon as the portal closed, it was as though a connection was broken, and the Mi-go all started flying straight upwards, as quickly as their little wings could carry them (which wasn't actually that quickly). The few shoggoths that hadn't been electrocuted, exploded, or shredded (Hulk had discovered that shredding was a most effective shoggoth control method) lumbered directly into the river, and would be later found making their way out to sea. 

Natasha had brought Erik down from the roof, and was making him comfortable on one of the leather sofas, although she was careful to brush the broken glass and marble off it first. Hulk and Loki had made quite a mess. Hulk jumped in, and Thor followed with Steve under one arm. Clint came in last, a few minutes later. He came up the elevator, "Like a civilized person," he said.

Loki had pulled himself out of the Loki-shaped hole in the floor that Hulk had left him in, and had crawled far enough to lean against the stairs. He had never been so happy to see anyone in his life. They were understandably wary; both Barton and Stark had their weapons at the ready. Thor crouched down and looked Loki in the eyes. "Loki? Brother? Is it really you?"

Loki smiled in reply. "It is me, Thor. Brother. Brother!" As he said this, he grabbed at Thor's chest, his fingers slipping on the armor, trying to find purchase. Instead, Thor captured both his hands and gripped them tightly. Tears formed in Loki's eyes, and he whispered, "Please don't leave me. Please. Never leave me."

In a smooth movement, Thor picked up Loki and cradled him against his chest, one arm securing his legs and the other supporting his back. Loki's head was on his shoulder, and he lifted his arm to hold on to Thor's neck. As he carried his little brother to find a comfortable place to let him rest - to sleep for several hours, would be his preference - Thor whispered to him in reply: "Never, brother. I will never leave you again."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So it turns out that replacing Thanos with Yog-Sothoth and the Chitauri and Leviathans with Mi-go and shoggoths gives you a really different kind of Battle of New York. It was way more different than I was expecting it to be when I started writing, but I hope y'all like it okay (or, don't hate it? At least don't hate it!).
> 
> There will be some explanatory stuff in the next chapter (there may or may not be a phone call, nomsayin?) so I don't really want to explain _too_ much, but the obvious thing (particularly for my Tasertricksters!) is that Loki has not been in control. He's been with Yog-Sothoth for almost a year, and let's just say it hasn't been pleasant. One of the interesting byproducts of this is that his relationship with Thor is (almost) completely changed. This is not going to be your usual "you're not my brother" Loki. Don't get me wrong, he will still be Loki! The childhood, not being understood, the sibling rivalry, struggling with his jotun self - none of that has changed. But he's got this whole other thing that's happened, and it'll give him some different issues. Issues which Thor and Darcy (and maybe, eventually, others) will help him work through.
> 
> Gotta say too that I'm thrilled to be through this because it means soon Darcy will meet Loki! And she'll meet Steve! And Yay!!! Darcy and Loki, Darcy and Steve, dancing and prancing and la la la (does a little dance, plays a little tune on the flute or whatnot)
> 
> General notes:
> 
> AU Timeline leading up to the Battle of New York adds a day to canon, for no reason other that I couldn't figure out how Natasha could get from Moscow in the nighttime to Kolkata in the nighttime in time for them to all be on the hellicarrier the next morning. It just bothered me, so I changed it. In the process I found [this amazing timeline](http://www.tiki-toki.com/timeline/entry/5395/A-Marvel-Cinematic-Universe-Timeline), which I shall bookmark for the future. (Seriously, if anyone can explain to me how the Moscow / Kolkata travel thing can work out, I would love to know!)
> 
> I've borrowed elements from [Prelude to Thor 2](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_gLaJ-2ZgA) (Stark's riff on GoT, which I would never have thought of, and the explanation for how Thor got back to Midgard).
> 
> To build the R'lyehian phrases I used the [vocabulary and guide here](http://www.yog-sothoth.com/wiki/index.php/R%27lyehian). That made me nuts, but it was also kind of fun too. I can't claim my phrases are correct (whatever that means).
> 
> The description of the shoggoths is from [At the Mountains of Madness](http://www.dagonbytes.com/thelibrary/lovecraft/mountainsofmaddness.htm). Yog-Sothoth is described in great detail in [The Dunwich Horror](http://www.dagonbytes.com/thelibrary/lovecraft/thedunwichhorror.htm), in which it fathers children with a human. Francis Morgan is also a character in that story, and he's much more brave in that than he is here.
> 
> Finally, here's a visual explaining why Yog-Sothoth chose to open the portal in the river, instead of in the sky.  
> 
> 
> P.S. I'm still on [Tumblr](http://saintleoba.tumblr.com/) \- I'm quiet, but I'm there.


	20. Phone Call

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Potentially confusing format. If it is so, I apologize, but it was a way to get everything I wanted in the chapter, in half the time, 'cause I only had to write half the dialogue. Yes, I'm lazy.
> 
> Three dots means a pause while the other character is speaking.
> 
> As always, thank you for reading! xoxo

Darcy and Jane sat in the lab, not talking. The entire battle had lasted just a couple of hours; it wasn't even 9pm when the portal closed. It was now heading towards 11pm. Jane was watching news reports, anything she could find. Darcy was halfheartedly scanning SHIELD's files. The immediacy passed, adrenaline out of her system, she was starting to crash. She stretched, arms pulled high above her head, and groaned loudly. "I'm exhausted, Jane. And hungry. I'm gonna go find some food. Okay?"

Jane didn't even look up. "Sure," she said. "Take your time. I'll stay here."

Darcy grunted and wandered out the door and down the hallway towards the cafeteria. The kitchen would be closed, but there were vending machines.

The cafeteria was deserted. Darcy wasn't too surprised. She and Jane were the only non-locals there, that she knew of, and everyone else probably went home to be with their families when they realized exactly what was happening in New York. Darcy got a couple of candy bars from one machine, and a couple of slightly small bottles of Coke from another. After thinking for a moment, she got another couple of candy bars. She headed back to the lab, walking quickly. The silence was starting to creep her out.

As she walked down the hall, she could hear a phone ringing. When she got to the lab, she realized it was the phone on the wall by the door, the same one they'd used to call Francis Morgan just a few hours before. Jane was frozen in her seat, eying the phone warily and giving no indication she was planning to move. Darcy sighed dramatically, tossed the snacks on the counter, and picked up the receiver.

"Hello?" She said. She did consider briefly adding something snarky, but she couldn't think of anything, and since she had no idea who was on the other end it was probably just as well.

A pause, then a voice said, "Miss Lewis. I understand you've been busy." It was a woman, the voice vaguely familiar, and slightly flat. 

Darcy ventured a guess. "Agent May?" The voice hummed with something that sounded like it could be amusement. "Very good. How is Norway?"

Darcy stared at Jane, who was staring right back at her. She was so confused. She replied, "It's, uh, fine?  Not much going on. Less exciting than other places we could be, if you know what I mean." She heard movement on the other end of the line, a whisper, then May spoke again.

"I do know what you mean. Miss Lewis, is Dr Foster there? Someone here wishes to speak with her."

Darcy held out the receiver to Jane and stage-whispered: "For you. I think it's Thor." Then she hopped up and down, silently squealing until Jane pulled the phone out of her hand, tentatively lifting it to her own ear. "Hello?"

Darcy could hear a deep voice murmuring, and by the way Jane's eyes closed and her shoulders relaxed, she figured her guess was right. Darcy stepped back to her laptop to give Jane some privacy, but kept her ears open to what she could hear of the conversation.

"Thor, it's... it's really good to hear your voice. ... Yes, we're fine. In Tromsø. Norway. ... It's, um, fine? We've just been in the Observatory, haven't actually looked around the town or anything." She was smiling, a bit cautiously still. While she talked, Darcy closed all the browser tabs and then reached for a candy bar, chewing it slowly while she scrolled through her Facebook newsfeed. "Well, I'm sure it's changed a lot since the last time you were here. So, how are you? ... Yes, we saw a lot of it. And we know a lot too, more than they've been saying on the news. Turns out Darcy has some major computer skills." Thor said something that caused Jane to glance up at Darcy, eyebrows raised. "Oh really? Interesting. ... Right, so, how did you get here? I thought maybe there was something wrong with the Bifrost since you were gone for so long ... Oh, wow. That sounds kind of awful. Did it hurt? ... So, when will the Bifrost be fixed?" As he answered, Jane nodded her head and chewed her lower lip, her eyes shining. "That's, ah, that's quite a while. Okay." 

Then she changed the subject. "Um, how's everyone else? Your friends... the Avenger people?" She was quiet for a minute, nodding her head and humming encouragingly. At one point she covered the mouth of the receiver and waved at Darcy, then whispered: "They dosed them with something derived from Rogers' blood!" Darcy gave her a thumb's up and whispered around a mouthful of candy: "Smart move!"

Thor spoke for a few more moments, until Jane had another opening. "Is Erik okay? We saw him on the roof, and it looked like he was better there, at the very end. ... Yeah, a knock on the head, right? ... Was it Yog-Sothoth?" A pause while Thor responded, and Jane shrugged, even though he couldn't see her, while Darcy perked up. Jane hadn't said anything about Yog-Sothoth to her. Jane continued, "Just guessing, given what I know and could tell from what we saw. Obviously an Old One, but it didn't come through the portal. Cthulhu would have come through. Nyarlathotep too. This one sent servants. It also makes sense given what's written in some of the prophetic chronicles. ... Sure, it's something like, _Yog-Sothoth knows the gate. Yog-Sothoth is the gate. Yog-Sothoth is the key and guardian of the gate. Past, present, future, all are one in Yog-Sothoth. He knows where the Old Ones broke through of old, and where They shall break through again._ So it makes sense that the first attempt to break through, to come back, would be from him. Er, it. So - how is Loki?"

* * *

Thor cleared his throat, considering his answer as he stroked his brother's forehead. He was seated on a bed in a spare room on one of Stark Tower's lower levels, Loki's head cradled in his lap. Agent May stood just outside the door of the room, but the door was cracked so she could hear everything he said. She'd arrived soon after the portal closed, alone in a SHIELD quinjet, and she wouldn't explain where she'd come from, just that she was there to guard Loki. Natasha and Clint knew her and took her words at face value, so the rest of the group followed their lead. Loki was asleep but restless, and his restlessness increased when Thor attempted to move away from him. So, for the time being, here they were.

"Loki is improved, although mentally and physically weak. Hulk was able to extract Yog-Sothoth from him via physical contact. ... Violent contact. He tossed him against the stone floors in Tony Stark's home. ... Similar to Erik, yes, but more extreme, and took more to get it out. ... Only for the thrall. The people driven senseless by the Mi-go will need to be dealt with in some other way. ... I don't know." Thor paused, still stroking Loki gently, while Jane asked another question. It was a question that made him deeply uncomfortable.

"The Tesseract is an object of great power," he growled. "SHIELD had absolutely no business trying to do anything with it. ... Yes, of course I know about it. It was in the possession of Asgard for many thousands of years, up until the War of Gods, when it was left on Midgard. ... We brought it over after the Jotun invasion, to assist with travel. ... Exactly, to travel without the Bifrost. It was left behind ... no, accidentally. Apparently the locals hid it away. I understand that it was found by the opposing forces during your second world war. It was with Steve Rogers when he crashed into the Arctic Sea, and found along with him only months ago." Jane asked another question and Thor sighed, switching the phone to his other hand. "We believe it was created at the start of the universe. It exists across dimensions and across time, which makes it very powerful but potentially dangerous if used without care. ... Yes, it has a crude energy that could be harnessed and used, but that energy is only a function of its method of existence. ... Where? My grandfather, Bor, found it on Midgard, but that was when humanity was very young." Loki shivered, and Thor paused to brush a hand across his cheek.

* * *

Back in the lab, Darcy was just finishing her second candy bar, washing it down with a mouthful of Coke. She'd given up all pretense of ignoring Jane and Thor's conversation, and was instead trying to glean what she could from her boss's end of the conversation, and her body language. Currently, her body language was moving quickly from "relaxed but interested" to "eagerly agitated." 

"Midgard?" Jane said, her brow wrinkled. "He found it on Midgard?" She made eye contact with Darcy, covered the receiver, and whispered excitedly, "They found the Tesseract on Midgard!" Darcy smiled and shook her head, not sure what the big deal was. "Yay?"

Jane waved at her dismissively, returning her attention back to Thor. "Sorry, I was just saying something to Darcy. ... So, what's going to happen to it now? ... Wait, Asgard? How? ... No, I thought you'd stay here until the Bifrost was fixed, or we'd send you back using my Einstein-Rosen Bridge. I mean, we know it works... That's just the settings, Thor, we can reconfigure it to reach Asgard, we'll have to do that anyway, and you may as well stay here until then, it won't take long. ... No, you can't! You can't  _do that_ , Thor..." She was shouting by now, and Darcy, alarmed, came to stand next to her, placing a hand on her shoulder. She could hear Thor's deep voice on the other end, still soft, not being raised in response to Jane. He said, "Jane, we must, it's not safe to keep it here..." "Not SAFE??" Jane interrupted, "But it's the only thing with enough energy to power my Bridge! And there's more, Thor, I just wish I had more time to explain..." 

Darcy gently took the receiver out of Jane's hand and wrapped her up in a hug. She murmured, "Calm down, Jane. This is your intergalactic space almost-boyfriend you're talking to, and you haven't seen him in almost a year. He doesn't deserve to be yelled at, really he doesn't. Please calm down." The other woman nodded into her shoulder, then straightened up and took back the phone. "Hey, Thor. Sorry, Darcy had to tell me something. Look, I don't want to fight with you. To be honest, I... I've been really worried about you, ever since you left. I thought maybe I wouldn't see you again, and I  _like_ you, Thor, really, and not just because you're Æsir." He said something in reply that made her smile, although she was also wiping tears out of her eyes.

* * *

Thor smiled and closed his eyes, bringing an image of Jane's face to the front of his mind. "And I don't only like you because you're Midgardian, Jane. I admire you, so very much. And I look forward to a day when we can spend more time together. But it is not today. I need to return to Asgard. Loki needs healers, and I know it upsets you but we must bring the Tesseract with us. Anyway, it will not be that long before we see one another again."

His smile grew as she replied, now slowly rubbing his brother's hair between two fingers. "Sweet Jane, you ask how I know that? I know because you will come to Asgard to get me. You should expect an invitation from a friend, very soon, and I suggest you take it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After a few monster chapters, I think we'll be returning to more frequent, but shorter chapters, for a while. I kind of like it this way.
> 
> If there is anything at all here that is confusing or not clear (and I'm sure there is, although it all makes sense in my head), please let me know in the comments and I'll do my best to make sense of it.
> 
> Jane's quote about Yog-Sothoth is from [The Dunwich Horror](http://www.dagonbytes.com/thelibrary/lovecraft/thedunwichhorror.htm), where it purports to be a quote from the _Necronomicon_.
> 
> Come hang out with me on [Tumblr](http://saintleoba.tumblr.com/).


	21. iPod and Pin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Darcy finally pulls out the iPod and pin that Carl sent her all those months ago, and ends up wishing she'd looked at them sooner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can tell now that we're definitely back to "shorter, more frequent chapters," because here is your second chapter in as many days. Work is a bitch so this probably won't happen again this week, but let's celebrate it while we can.
> 
>  

Jane and Thor said their goodbyes - a bit teary, at least on Jane's end. Darcy had to admit that she was glad to see her being open about how much she really cared about Thor. It was so easy for Jane to just focus on her work, and push everything else away. Darcy got to have a quick conversation with him too ("How's space?" "Space is fine."), but then Loki woke up and Thor had to go. Jane took the rest of the candy and the other bottle of Coke back to their rooms, while Darcy stayed on the phone with Agent May.

It was an interesting conversation, to say the least. Apparently SHIELD knew about her hacking attempts. "We are aware of what goes on in our system, Miss Lewis." Agent May clarified, "We were interested to see how far you could get."

"So, how did I do?" Darcy asked.

"Adequately. Not bad at all." May replied. Not high praise, but Darcy was pleased with herself nevertheless.

Darcy asked about Erik. He was also in Stark Tower, resting, but would be relocated to a secure hospital in the morning for a complete physical and mental check-up. "He was in thrall for 72 hours. Clint Barton was in thrall for about 2/3 of that time, and he shows very few negative effects. Tiredness and headache, but that may simply be due to lack of sleep and physical overwork. We expect Dr Selvig to make it through with few difficulties, too." She explained further that both Erik and Clint had been in what they were calling secondary thrall - under the control of Yog-Sothoth, but with Loki acting as a kind of intermediary, the connection made with Loki's spear. This may have sheltered them from having more extensive issues in the future.

Darcy asked May about Carl Yazzie. "I know he was taken by Loki along with Erik and Barton. We had a falling out, but I've been feeling kind of bad about it. I just need to know, please..." May was businesslike, her voice betraying no hint of emotion. "We are unaware of Agent Yazzie's current location. However we believe that whatever happened during the close of the portal removed the Old One from everyone still under thrall..."

Darcy interrupted. "I thought it was just the three of them? Were there others?" May sighed. "Loki was out there for 72 hours. If he found someone who might be useful, he took them. There were others who went with him willingly. But we are seeking them all out now."

"Woah. Went  _willingly_? That's kind of nuts."

Agent May grunted in agreement. "Cults and cultists exist. It's a good thing the invasion happened the way it did, so suddenly and with relatively little cooperation from the cults. It really could have been much worse."

Darcy had one more question. "Agent May, where's Agent Coulson? I would have expected him to be the one to call, since he's kind of been our handler for the past months. No offense, and he's probably really busy with everything, but maybe let him know we asked after him?" May was silent for a moment, and finally replied slowly, "Coulson was killed in the lead-up to the invasion. Loki had been captured, and he caused a great deal of damage during his escape. Coulson was the only one who died. I'm sorry to have to tell you, Miss Lewis."

Darcy was shocked, but she couldn't quite bring herself to cry. Maybe she would later. "No, Agent May, I'm sorry. I know you worked closely with Agent Coulson. This must be very difficult for you." May sighed, and said, "Unfortunately death is one of the dangers of the job. But thanks."

* * *

Darcy hung up the phone and made her way to the rooms she shared with Jane. It was a kind of typical Northern European shared housing, four tiny bedrooms (only two occupied, the other two sitting dark and empty) around a tiny common room and a tiny kitchen (complete with quarter-sized fridge and two-burner ceramic cooktop). The carpet was thin, the furniture uncomfortable, the walls concrete block. It was generally depressing, and Darcy was reminded again why they spent so much of their time in the lab. Opening the door, she was surprised to find Jane curled up on the sofa in the common room, a lamp illuminating the book open on her lap. Candy bar wrappers and a half-empty bottle of Coke rested on the cushion next to her.

"Hey bosslady," Darcy said, leaning against the kitchen doorway, laptop clutched to her chest. "I thought you'd be in bed by now."

Jane shook her head and smiled grimly. "I won't be able to sleep. Too much going on up here." She pointed a finger to the side of her head and twirled it. Darcy smiled back without replying, set her laptop on the scarred coffeetable, and retreated into her room, coming back a moment later with a couple of things in her hand. Jane closed her book and eyed her with curiosity as Darcy lowered herself into a too-low wooden-framed armchair. "What have you got there, Darce?"

Darcy held up both hands. "Carl's iPod and pin. They've been in my carryon for months. I dunno, I just... want to pay attention to them, I guess. I'm not angry any more. I still don't understand why he did what he did, but I know it was SHIELD and wasn't personal. And given that he's just spent three days with an Old One in his brain, and they don't even know where he is..."

"They don't?"

"Nope. Looking for him, and others, too. Including some cultists who joined Loki by choice."

At this Jane almost chuckled. "Yeah, no surprise there. Fucking cultists."

Darcy shrugged and returned to the iPod. "Do you want to hear what's on this, Jane? I was going to plug it into my laptop, but if you'd rather I'll get my earbuds." Jane nodded, "Sure I'll listen, why not. Curious to hear what kind of secret messages he might be sending you. Hey, can I see that pin?" 

Darcy handed it to her, then set to work plugging in the iPod and turning it on, the battery having died over the course of the long hibernation. As the first song started up, she couldn't help laughing out loud. 

 _There's a man who leads a life of danger_  
_To everyone he meets he stays a stranger_  
_With every move he makes_  
_Another chance he takes  
          Odds are he won't live to see tomorrow_

Jane looked up, eyes wide with amusement. "Darcy, is that 'Secret Agent Man'?" Darcy nodded, still giggling. "It is indeed. Well, I think he's trying to tell me that he did what he did 'cause he's an agent. But I already figured that." Jane cocked her head, and said, "But remember, he sent this to you not even a week after your lunch, after you figured out about the bugs. He probably thought you'd listen to it right away, not almost a year later." Darcy looked thoughtful. "Yeah, kind of wish I had." She scrolled through the playlist. There was only one (title: Playlist 1), and the songs had their titles stripped out so she couldn't even see what they were. Darcy figured Carl just did it to annoy her, and the thought of him loading songs onto the iPod in her hand and sniggering gave her a heavy feeling in the pit of her stomach.

When the next song started, all Darcy could do was smile.

 _Fall is here, hear the yell_  
_back to school, ring the bell_

Jane looked up again from the pin. "White Stripes?" Darcy nodded, smiling but feeling tears pricking behind her eyelids. 

 _I can tell that we are gonna be friends_  
_I can tell that we are gonna be friends_

While Darcy listened to the music, Jane was examining the pin. She'd seen it before, briefly. It was round, and very small, maybe an inch across. The decoration on the pin was black on a white background, divided horizontally. The top of the pin looked like a fan of feathers over a smaller semicircle. The bottom half showed a serpent, tail curving down the right edge of the pin, head curving down the left, its head raised in the center, tongue reaching almost to the end of its tail. Jane was particularly interested in the serpent's eye, a small black dot just off-center in the bottom half of the pin.

Jane went to her room and brought out a small tool bag, took out a magnifying headset and put it over her eyes. The song had changed again, some heavy metal she didn't recognize. Darcy was just sitting, listening. After a moment Jane sighed and pushed the headset to the top of her head. "Hey Darce, come here and look at this. The pin? It's a camera. He wore it all the time, didn't he?"

Darcy nodded and walked over to the sofa, pushed aside the snack trash and sat down next to Jane. "Yeah, he did. So they were taking pictures of us, too. Huh. We didn't have any privacy, did we." Jane shrugged, and while she worked to pry off the back of the pin she said, "Well, maybe his way of apologizing was to send us copies. Now at least we can know what they had on us. Although," she paused, pulling off the back and exposing the innards, "I'm pretty sure it doesn't matter at this point. It's just water under the bridge."

It was definitely a camera, with a microscopic lens and a tiny storage disk, and a few other wires that looked damaged. Jane removed the disk with a pair of tweezers and grabbed a spare thumb drive from the tool bag. Within a minute she'd dismantled the thumb drive, replacing its disk with the one from the camera. She didn't know if this would actually work, but it was worth a try.

Jane handed the drive to Darcy, who pulled over her laptop (prog-tinged heavy metal still emanating from its tinny speakers), plugged the drive into one of the empty USB ports, and opened it when it appeared on her desktop.

There were five photos. They weren't from the lab, or from anywhere else they recognized. It was hard to tell what kind of room it was, exactly. The photos were blurry, and quite dark. There appeared to be a single light embedded in the ceiling. Under the light was a kind of chair. To Darcy it looked like a dentist's chair, although she was positive it wasn't. In the chair was a person - a man. He was wearing dark trousers, and no shirt, and he had straight dark hair that hung down on his face. In one photo his face was clear. He was staring straight ahead, expressionless. Darcy thought he looked dead, almost. Like there was nothing behind his eyes. He didn't look happy, or sad, or scared, or anything. Just... empty. There was also something seriously off about his left arm. It had dark lines interspersed with wider grey or silver areas, running like rings around his entire arm, from the ends of his fingers up to and including his shoulder.

"Are those tattoos?" Darcy asked, half to herself. Jane shook her head. "No, too shiny. His whole arm is shiny. Encased in metal, maybe? Or some kind of prosthesis?"

Each photo focused on this person in the chair, but a few included supporting characters. The back of someone's head appeared in the corner of one photo - short hair, grey, or maybe blonde, it was hard to tell in the light. And another man, more clear. Short dark hair, buzzed on the sides, dressed all in black, with something like belts strapped across his body. Darcy pointed at him: "What's up with his belts?"

"I think those are dual holsters," Jane explained. "Like for guns?" Darcy asked. "Yes," she replied.

They sat for a few minutes in silence, cycling through the photos several times.

Darcy finally broke the silence. "Well, this is not at all strange, or creepy. What the fuck? And how? And why? Jane, what do you think this all means?"

Jane looked equal parts thoughtful and worried. "I think maybe it's a warning," she said slowly. "Not like a threat, but like a _here's something for you to watch out for_."

"Jane, do you recognize that guy?" Darcy asked, pointing to the man with the holsters. Jane shook her head. "Not at all. Do you?" Darcy shook her head, too, and said, "I sure don't. And I know I'd remember a dude with a metal arm. And his face..." she shivered. "Enough to give me nightmares." 

After a few more minutes of small talk, Darcy turned off the music and they both went to bed, with plenty on their minds.

* * *

Late the next morning, they got a private flight back to Arkham.

The day after that, Jane Foster got a phone call from Tony Stark inviting her and Darcy to apply for positions with Stark Industries, working out of their headquarters in Manhattan. The R&D floors, Mr. Stark assured her, were undamaged, and her equipment, brought down from the roof, was already there. He could offer her a salary twice what she was earning as a college professor, and he could also give her a full-time assistant, as long as that assistant was Darcy Lewis. He was aware that Miss Lewis was one semester away from graduation, and he promised to do everything in his power to ensure that she graduates on time.

He'd been working on something called the arc reactor, had she heard of it? 

It took Jane and Darcy about 10 minutes to make their decision. Exactly two weeks after the Battle of New York, they were setting up their new lab in New York City.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been holding on to the iPod and pin for a long time. Originally they were both going to be uncovered when they arrived in the package along with all the equipment, just a few days after Carl "slipped up" and Darcy figured out they were being bugged ([Chapter 16: Gifts](http://archiveofourown.org/works/3315230/chapters/7885878)). But when I wrote the chapter, Darcy was too angry, so she just put them away. She didn't forget them, she just needed a good excuse to go back and look at them. And finding out Carl had been part of Yog-Sothoth's attempted invasion was a good excuse. 
> 
> The iPod was a fun way for Carl to send Darcy a message, and a bit of himself. The first two songs, [Secret Agent Man](https://youtu.be/6iaR3WO71j4) and [We're Going to be Friends](https://youtu.be/PKfD8d3XJok) (which is really and truly my very favorite friendship song _ever_ ) are pretty self-explanatory ('I'm a secret agent, but I really value your friendship'). The rest of the playlist is made entirely of the complete discography of [Tool](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tool_%28band%29), a prog-ish heavy metal band that happens to be my favorite band, and is Carl's too. It's not really Darcy's thing, but maybe it'll grow on her if she gives it a chance.
> 
> The photos... we'll, I think y'all know what the photos are. Darcy and Jane will figure it out too, eventually. But for now you know something they don't know! Yay!
> 
> The symbol on Carl's pin is the logo of the [Indian Pueblo Cultural Center](http://www.indianpueblo.org/faq/avanyu.html), and it represents Avanyu, the water serpent. The website says, "The Avanyu symbolizes the importance of water to indigenous desert cultures. This symbol is also associated with lightning as shown by the serpent’s tongue. The upper semicircular portion of the logo represents eagle feathers. The smaller enclosed and crosshatched semicircle is also a rain symbol. The crosshatching represents rain and the upward directed semicircle is a traditional cloud symbol."
> 
> The logo is both trademarked and copyrighted, but I'm going to claim fair use and post it here until someone yells at me to remove it.  
> 


	22. Preparations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony, Bruce, Melinda May. Music. Soulmates. Tesseract.

The first few weeks of employment at Stark Industries passed quickly. It mostly involved getting settled, ordering equipment and organizing the lab, and just figuring out how everything worked. "Everything" included their new co-workers, a varied assembly of scientists and lab assistants who were also set up in Research & Development. There were ten floors of R&D and several dozen staff working on many different projects, and there actually wasn't much interaction among the project teams, so although Jane and Darcy gradually started to recognize other employees by sight, they didn't really get a chance to become friendly with any of them. Which was okay with Darcy - she'd been happy working with Jane for the past year or so, and she was more than happy to just keep working with her, and having her for a friend. 

In addition to working together, the two women opted to live together, at least temporarily, sharing an apartment on one of the Tower's many residential floors. It was the bizarro cousin of the rooms at the Tromsø Observatory: the same basic layout - kitchen, sitting room, two bedrooms, bathroom - but instead of being tiny, cold, and dark, everything was shiny chrome, and much bigger than it needed to be, with floor-to-ceiling windows. Darcy still found it cold, "but at least it's a fancy cold," she told Jane with a wink. It shared a common area with several other apartments, which according to Tony would eventually house the other members of the Avengers Initiative - Natalia Romanova ("We call her Natasha"), Clint Barton ("Natasha's boy toy"), and Steve Rogers ("You know, the Captain. He's pretty, but he has a stick up his butt"). But they were still off tracking down wayward shoggoths and the SHIELD agents and civilians taken by Loki who were still missing. So the women spent most of their time alone.

They did have two new colleagues they saw regularly: Dr. Bruce Banner, and Tony Stark himself. Bruce was cordial, but quiet and mostly kept to himself; Darcy didn't really think of him as "friend" material. He worked well with Jane, though, and seemed to respect her ideas, which is all Darcy wanted. Tony... well, Tony was mouthy, and a gossip, but he was also whip smart and didn't patronize Jane. Tony's idea was to power Jane's Einstein-Rosen bridge using the next generation arc reactor, and he made it his personal priority. Apparently the Battle for New York, ending as it did with him personally lobbing a nuclear missile straight into the maw of Yog-Sothoth, had convinced Tony that a strong relationship with Asgard was in the best interest of the planet. He'd even been trying to convince himself that it was a good idea to cooperate with SHIELD, despite some acrimony surrounding the Avengers Initiative that Darcy didn't really know the details of. But before they could power the bridge, he had to build the reactor, and even then before they could use Jane's equipment to generate the bridge, Jane had to fix the settings and figure out how, exactly, to find Asgard. 

* * *

After several repeat listens, Darcy had decided that she kind of liked the music from Carl's iPod. The lyrics didn't always make sense, the meter seemed to change randomly (and sometimes it seemed the different instruments were playing at different meters), and there was that one song that was a minute of silence followed by a parody fire and brimstone sermon, followed by shotgun blasts, followed by 7 1/2 minutes of crickets chirping, followed by what sounded to her like the second-person monologue of a serial killer. It was pretentious, oh gods was it ever, but she liked it. She hadn't made any effort to find out what it was; it was rather fun to keep it a mystery from herself, almost a super-secret that she shared with Carl, and only with him.

Of course, Tony Stark had to come along and ruin it.

Jane and Bruce were in one of the sub-basements to talk with the team of mechanics who had been tasked to build the new arc reactor, so Darcy had docked the iPod and was blasting it while she munged data from the most recent astronomic readings. She was singing along to the one song she was pretty sure she understood.

 _I know the pieces fit 'cause I watched them tumble down_  
_No fault, none to blame, it doesn't mean I don't desire to_  
_Point the finger, blame the other..._

Suddenly, Tony's voice was loud by her ear. "Didn't have you pegged as a metalhead."

Darcy jumped in her chair. "Argh, Tony!" She admonished him, "You scared me, dude. Don't sneak up on me while I'm working, jeez."

He just gave her a shit-eating grin. "That was totally worth it. But seriously, Darcy, this music? Seems a bit ostentatious for you. I had you pegged as listening to," he paused, lowering his head over her shoulder and gazing sideways into her face, "well, I don't know what. Cinderella? Poison? Do people still listen to Poison? Anyway, something more fun than _this_."

Darcy swiveled her chair around so she was facing Tony straight-on. "I prefer hip-hop, thank you very much. But this has grown on me. I didn't like it at first," she said, honestly, "but it was a gift from a friend, so I figured I'd at least listen to it a few times. For him, you know?" She tipped her head. "So, Tony, you know this band?"

"Sure I do. I don't just listen to AC/DC, you know." Tony replied. "They're good, but have you heard any of Keenan's other stuff, Puscifer or Perfect Circle? They're different, but also good." He looked at her expectantly, and she looked back at him blankly, finally shaking her head slightly. "Tony, I don't even know the name of this band, let alone any of the people in it." Tony's face slowly grew into a grin. "Your friend didn't even tell you the name of the band? _Nice_." He laughed like it was the funniest thing he'd heard all day. "That's great. Oh man, I'd like to shake his hand. Anyway, band's called Tool. Maynard James Keenan is the brains behind it. Really good, if you're into that kind of thing. You know, deeply philosophical lyrics, challenging rhythm, general pretentiousness." He raised an eyebrow at her, and asked, "This guy, this friend of yours. Your soulmate?"

Darcy shook her head and rolled her eyes. " _Not_ my soulmate. More like my adoptive uncle, or maybe an annoying sidekick." She didn't elaborate, just sat there and smiled at Tony with her eyebrows raised. He nodded and picked up a pen, twirling it between his fingers. "That's cool. Have you met your soulmate yet?" He continued quickly, before she could respond, "Personal question, I know. I'm just curious, and I have no filter, so I tend to say what I want at the moment and regret it later. I didn't meet Pepper until I was in my 40s, so if you haven't met yours it's no big deal, you know." She shook her head. "No, Tony, I haven't met my soulmate. And I know it's fine. But, um, thanks, I guess." She wasn't quite ready to tell Tony she didn't have a soulmark; she was afraid his gossipy nature would take it all over the Tower and she didn't want to worry about people judging her.

He went from twirling the pen to tossing it up in the air, flipping end-over-end. "What about Jane and Thor? She hasn't talked much about him, but when he was here she was almost all the talked about." Tony stopped tossing the pen, stood up very straight, and lowered his voice, speaking slowly: " _You would most appreciate Lady Jane, Tony Stark. She is bold, and beautiful, and she is building a bridge to the stars_." He sighed. "I thought maybe they were joined, but she doesn't gush the way he did. So what's up with that?" Darcy swiveled her chair back to face the computer, signaling an end to the conversation. She said, "Jane's just really private, she likes Thor very much. Anyway, not my business. I need to get back to work. See you later!" 

Tony stood for a few moments, but when it was clear that Darcy was through with him, he stalked away, presumably to find someone else to annoy. The music kept playing.

 _This body. This body holding me. Be my reminder here that I am not alone in_  
_This body, this body holding me, feeling eternal_  
_All this pain is an illusion._

* * *

The only other person who Jane and Darcy saw on a regular basis was Agent Melinda May. She'd taken over as their SHIELD liaison, and she came up from DC every Thursday to check on progress of the Einstein-Rosen bridge. Coulson's death had softened Darcy's attitude towards May. She was still obviously a tough woman, and Darcy wouldn't call her warm and fuzzy, but she was at least capable of tenderness. She'd cared deeply about Coulson, that was obvious, and when she told them that Carl Yazzie had been found, and was fine, her relief was palpable. Darcy decided she wasn't heartless and terrifying, as she'd thought when they first met, but ... well, she was still terrifying.

At Agent May's third visit, Darcy finally had a chance to ask a question that had been bugging her for a while. After the meeting, Darcy offered to escort May out of the building. "I want to get a fancy coffee from the cart in the lobby, so I'll just go down with you..." That was her excuse. As soon as the elevator door closed, Darcy turned to face May. The agent raised an eyebrow; Darcy figured she could smell her nervousness. "Agent May, I have a question." May stood still, unsmiling, but glanced at her. "Yes?" 

Darcy paused for a moment to collect herself, then asked, "Why aren't Jane and I mentioned in SHIELD's system? You guys have been all over us, consulting with us, helping us..." May interrupted her, looking up towards the ceiling. "JARVIS," she spoke to Tony Stark's AI butler, who controlled the workings of the Tower, "Stop the elevator."

"Of course, Agent May," JARVIS responded in a soft-spoken slightly English accent, and the elevator slowed to a stop between stories 23 and 22. "Thank you, JARVIS. Implement privacy protocol A3, please."

"It is done, Agent May," JARVIS replied again. May turned to face Darcy, and sighed. "It's for your safety, Miss Lewis. Yours and Dr Foster's. Your work has the potential to make you a target. The fewer people who know about it, even in SHIELD, the better. At the point when it started to look like you might actually be successful in building the bridge, we made the decision to move oversight of Jane Foster from the main SHIELD organization to a confidential sub-organization consisting of Director Fury and Agent Coulson. And, now, me."

Darcy blinked, cold realization washing over her. She leaned her shoulder heavily against the wall of the elevator. "That's what Carl did, isn't it. He didn't slip up, he did it on purpose. I _knew_ it. That's when it happened." She looked into May's face, trying to read her expression. She continued, "I don't understand, though. Why didn't you just tell us, or just do it without telling us? Why all the drama? Carl didn't  _want_ to do that, did he?" Agent May's face was blank. There was a long pause before she responded, and when she did she spoke slowly and carefully.

"Carl did what he had to do. He needed a believable reason to stop working with you. I'm sorry, Miss Lewis, but I really can't say more than that." She hesitated, and her expression relaxed slightly. "I can tell you that no, he didn't want to hurt you, and he didn't want to stop working with you. But he really had to." Darcy nodded and thought for a moment.

"Agent May, was Carl in danger?" Darcy asked softly. "Are we in danger?" May allowed a small smile, which Darcy almost found reassuring, and she said, "He was, and he still is. And you are, too. But you should know that there are people who are protecting you. Me, Tony Stark..." At the mention of Tony Darcy rolled her eyes, and May chuckled. "It's true, though. And Carl Yazzie, too. You can trust him. Now, really, that's all I can say. Let's go down and get you some coffee. Okay?" 

May instructed JARVIS to lift the protocol. As the elevator began its travel downward, Darcy said, "Agent May, if you see Carl, can you please tell him I say hi? And that it's okay." May nodded, and Darcy swore she held back a smile. "I'll be sure to do that, Miss Lewis."

* * *

Two months passed, and autumn became winter. The building of the arc reactor was on schedule - ahead of schedule, really - and it would be ready soon. It would generate enough energy to power a good-sized city, and Tony assured Darcy that would be enough to keep the portal open for several minutes. When she relayed Erik's comments about plunging the Southwest into darkness by tapping into the power grid, Tony laughed. "It doesn't need  _that_ much energy, Darcy. The arc reactor will be able to support it. I'm confident of that." And, really, it was impossible to argue with a confident Tony Stark.

The next issue - the big issue, the  _really big issue_  - was how to configure the equipment to ensure that the portal would actually open on Asgard, and not on some more or less random area in space. It turned out the energy signatures from the Bifrost site, which they'd used during the summer tests, weren't suitable because they pointed directly to old Bifrost observatory on Asgard, which no longer existed. And since they didn't know where Asgard was located physically in the universe - what galaxy it was in, what star or stars it orbited - they couldn't use that information either.

It was Bruce who suggested using the Tesseract as a beacon, finding it and aiming to open the portal close to it. Finding the Tesseract was certainly possible. Although Bruce and Tony had relied on its gamma ray emissions to track it on Midgard they wouldn't be able to do that off-planet. "Outer space is full of gamma radiation; it's emitted by stars," Bruce explained to Darcy over coffee - herbal tea for him - and cupcakes one afternoon, "but there are several other readings that Erik Selvig took, other sorts of energy, unique to the Tesseract, that we should be able to trace, even over such long distances."

Darcy squirmed uncomfortably at the mention of Erik's name. Having Yog-Sothoth up in his mind, even with Loki as an intermediary, had affected him greatly. Darcy hadn't even seen him, although Jane had visited him a couple of times in the hospital in the weeks after the battle. Jane suspected that his issue was psychological rather than biological or chemical - that is, he was bothered by the idea of the thrall, rather than there being any actual remnants of the Old One in the chemistry of his brain. Still, the result was the same, and it wasn't clear when he'd be well enough to return to work. For the time being he'd gone to Sweden, to be cared for by his soulmate. The notes he'd taken on the Tesseract had been recovered from Loki's center of operations, uncovered by Natasha, Steve and Clint some weeks before. It had been deserted in a hurry, and unfortunately not all of the people who had entered under the thrall had made it out alive. But the three Avengers had found Erik's notes, which they had past along, and clues to the identities of some of the cultist volunteers, who they were still tracking down, apparently with some success. The three were occasionally in the Tower now, too, although Darcy hadn't met any of them yet.

At first Jane was skeptical of Bruce's idea to track the Tesseract. "We don't know where they've taken it. It might not even be on Asgard, it could be anywhere. Or it could be locked in an underground vault, like in Raiders of the Lost Ark. And we really don't want to open the portal into some underground vault, do we," she admonished Bruce. The three of them - Jane, Bruce, and Darcy - were alone in the lab, the scientists arguing while Darcy half-listened, poking at wires behind one of the pieces of equipment.

"What about Heimdall?" Asked Darcy, standing up and stretching after being hunched over for a while.

Jane groaned. "What  _about_ Heimdall?" she asked. "What do you mean?"

Darcy shrugged. "I mean, Heimdall can see everything, right? Thor yelled at him when he was here, and he can see us too. I know Thor said Heimdall kept an eye on you before, Jane. So, what I'm saying is why don't you tell Heimdall your plan? Go outside and yell at the sky, tell him we'll be looking for the Tesseract, tell them to be ready however many days and hours from now, and that they need to take it wherever they want you to open the portal." She stopped, as both Jane and Bruce were staring at her as if she'd lost her mind. "What?" She demanded. "It makes total sense, guys. You know it does." The two scientists traded a glance, and Jane sighed and said, "You know, Darcy, it does? Makes as much sense as anything else."

Ten minutes later, Jane was on the roof shouting out their plan. She just hoped Heimdall was listening. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song lyrics are copyright the artists. I'm claiming Fair Use to include them here. The three songs mentioned are [Disgustipated](https://youtu.be/vSW_6F64biU) (the one with 7 1/2 minutes of chirping crickets - it makes sense in context, truly), [Schism](https://youtu.be/UhjG47gtMCo) (I know the pieces fit) and [Parabol & Parabola](https://youtu.be/tvqOTjq0AjE) (pain is an illusion).
> 
> I'm pretty damn tired, so not many notes today. I'll just say I'm glad to have this moving along and I'm super excited for the next couple of chapters, when we'll be introducing some friends, old and new. 
> 
> Your kudos and comments mean the world to me, so if you have something to say don't hesitate to say it!


	23. Opening Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little bit of gossip, and the portal opens.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's been so long between updates. Work has been crazy (great, but crazy). And I'll admit that AoU took the wind out of my sails. I'm not gonna lie - I really didn't like it. What a waste. But then Mad Max: Fury Road came out and that kind of made up for it (seriously, if you haven't seen it, go see it now) so I've been spending my time reading MM:FR fanfic for a while (there are [some](http://archiveofourown.org/works/4033648) [good](http://archiveofourown.org/works/4002001/chapters/8989195) [ones](http://archiveofourown.org/works/4016305/chapters/9026620)). But I can't bear to leave this unfinished, so I'm back to finish it! It may take a while, but it'll get done. And apologies in advance: this chapter didn't get nearly as far as I hoped it would, but I hope it will leave you looking forward to the next. So, here we go...

Tony had taken to calling the day they planned to open Jane's bridge, and Thor's expected arrival, Opening Day. Darcy understood that it was a baseball reference, but she would admit to not understanding the significance.

Opening Day was three weeks from the day Jane called to Heimdall from the roof of Stark Tower. Once Jane had finished shouting she was a bit embarrassed, "After all, it's not as though Heimdall is sitting up in the sky looking down on us, is it? He should be able to see me no matter where I am. I hope at least I got his attention." Jane had always been one to talk to herself, and she continued that habit, only instead of talking to herself she was now directing her comments to Heimdall. From where she stood pushing data through the computers Darcy could hear Jane muttering, while she checked and re-checked settings on the hardware. 

They could only hope that Heimdall was watching them, and passing the information along to Thor. They assumed he was, but they had to plan for the alternative.

Jane, Bruce and Tony had come up with what they hoped was a foolproof plan. The bridge would be relocated to a relatively unpopulated area of upstate New York. It was in an underground bunker, similar to the one in New Mexico, but the bridge would be placed in a special room with an air lock and operated remotely, in case it opened onto the vacuum of space. Once it was determined to be safe, the air lock would be opened and Jane would enter the room and pass through the portal, along with one person to act as her bodyguard and support. Once through the portal, they would send a flag back through: green if all was well, red if not. If all was well, they would close the portal, in order to save energy. 20 minutes later, they would re-open the portal. Jane would pass through a green flag if more time were required, and again a red flag if there were trouble. Eventually Jane and her support person would come back through - and perhaps, hopefully, Thor would come as well. If there were trouble - well, Darcy wasn't sure exactly, but it was clear that Fury was working out some kind of plan.

* * *

The time passed quickly for Darcy. It seemed like she was either in the lab or sleeping, and she wasn't sleeping nearly enough. She was aware that Natasha, Clint, and Steve had finished tracking down shoggoths and people who had assisted with the invasion, and were now present in the Tower full-time, but she rarely saw them and hadn't really spoken to any of them. Although the common area and accompanying kitchen were available to her and Jane, their habit was to take meals and relax in their own apartment, and the few times she ventured to the common area she'd been alone. She wasn't sure if the others kept different hours, or just didn't use it. Therefore her knowledge about them was limited to what she'd read around the invasion, and what she could glean from conversations between Tony and Bruce. Tony had a big mouth, so she could glean quite a bit. 

He mostly talked about Steve. Actually, he mostly  _complained_ about Steve. They obviously didn't see eye-to-eye, and they seemed to have conflicting personalities. Tony would talk about how uptight Steve was, how he didn't know how to have a good time, but Darcy thought there was more to it than just disagreements and personality issues. Several times she heard Tony say something like, "I still can't believe that's the guy my father wouldn't shut up about." He was  _jealous_ , she thought. Jealous that his dad had held Steve to high esteem. Tony had daddy issues.

And Darcy was sympathetic to Steve. Here was a guy who had killed himself to save the world, only to wake up 70 years later to discover that despite his sacrifice, the world had continued in a downward spiral anyway. She'd read his story: His best friend from childhood (maybe soulmate? The records were unclear), James Barnes, had joined the Army, Steve had wanted to join up but had been unable to due to poor health. Discovered by Dr. Abraham Erskine, inventor of the famous serum, Steve Rogers had become The Captain, and had eventually slipped behind enemy lines to save his Barnes, and many other New World soldiers besides. Barnes had died on a mission, and Steve "died" not long after.

How hard would it be to go through all that? Steve had awakened six months ago. In his mind, his best friend had died maybe a year ago. Maybe? And everyone else he'd loved was dead or dying. Then to be thrust immediately into an interdimensional invasion, an invasion made possible by the thing that you'd killed yourself to save the world from? How fucked up is that? So, yeah, Darcy was way more sympathetic to Steve than she was to Tony (and Tony's hurt fee-fees). Even so, she knew it didn't really matter what she thought. She didn't know Steve, and even if she did, she couldn't imagine saying any of this to him. She held her tongue when Tony brought it up, letting Bruce reply instead (which he inevitably did).

* * *

It was the day before Opening Day, and the group had relocated to the bunker. Darcy was down in the airlock chamber, checking connections between the various pieces of equipment. Jane was off meeting with Director Fury and Steve Rogers, who had volunteered to accompany her through the bridge. "He was really sweet about it," Jane had said to Darcy the night before, over late-night ice cream. "He's excited to see Thor. I think he really likes him. Like a fellow soldier, you know?" 

Darcy was standing behind the bridge when the doors opened and she heard Tony's voice mid-sentence. "... in separate rooms. Trouble in paradise? They're fine on the clock, but I tried to have coffee with them yesterday and they barely spoke." He finally noticed Darcy standing there and offered her a wave. "Hey, Darce. Everything good here?" Bruce, following on his heels, gave her a nod and walked over to stand by her. He glanced over her shoulder at the tablet in her hand, but his words were for Tony. "Not our business, Tony. If they want our advice they'll ask for it, okay?" Tony just crossed his arms and huffed. Bruce hid a smile, and said, "Look, if you're really concerned, say something to Pepper. She'll get to the bottom of it if anyone can. Okay?" Darcy raised her eyebrows, and asked, "Trouble in paradise?"

Bruce closed his eyes and squeezed the bridge of his nose, sighing audibly. Tony turned to her and pointed. "No, this is good. I'd like another opinion. Bruce seems to think it's not an issue, but this is bothering me." He paused, and Darcy passed the tablet to Bruce, then said, "Go on." Tony grabbed a screwdriver off a nearby tray and toyed with it as he spoke. "Natasha and Clint. They're not well known outside of SHIELD, at least they weren't before, you know, but within SHIELD they're legendary. Not just their fighting skills, but their relationship." He looked into Darcy's eyes. "Have you heard about it?"

She nodded, and replied, "Yeah, a bit. I read some, when I hacked into SHIELD during the invasion. I know they're soulmates, and something about Budapest that's highly classified."

Tony nodded back. "Budapest was their first mission together. It was epic. You've seen Pacific Rim, right? They're like a pair of jaeger pilots, two people acting as one. Drift compatible. But they met several years ago, when Clint was sent to kill her. She was in the KGB, causing real problems for a lot of people, and the plan was to take her out. But then he got close enough to speak to her, and she spoke back to him, and then... well, here we are. It's a great soulmate story, a great love story. You with me so far?" Darcy nodded.  Tony continued, still turning the screwdriver over and over in his hands. Bruce was studiously ignoring both of them. "So, I've known Natasha for a few years. Professionally, not well. In fact when I first met her I thought she was someone else. Anyway. I'd never met Clint until just before the invasion. Like, a day before the invasion. After Nat whacked him on the head."

Darcy continued, "She knocked Loki out of his head." 

Tony looked thoughtful. "Yog-Sothoth, really. But whatever. So they're reunited. We get through the battle, they go off with Steve to chase down what's left of the invading force and the people who helped, and when they come back they're barely speaking. And Steve said they were like that on the entire mission: working together just fine, but otherwise not speaking. And it's Clint, I'm sure it's Clint!" Tony raised his voice, aiming it at Bruce, who was now standing by the location where the portal would open. He just shook his head, gaze steady on the surface of the tablet. Tony turned his attention back to Darcy. "He comes out of mind control, and then refuses to speak to the one person you'd expect him to lean on the most. And Nat's hard to read, she's a closed book, but I can tell it bothers her. That's weird, right?"

Darcy nodded again. "Yes, Tony, that is weird." Tony turned back to Bruce. "See? She thinks it's weird too." Bruce finally glanced up at his friend, and said, "I agree it's weird, Tony. I just don't think there's anything for us to do about it." Darcy agreed with that, too, and said so. Bruce pulled her and Tony over to run some tests, and no more was said about Clint and Natasha. 

* * *

Opening Day started out well. In fact, it went off without a hitch, until it didn't. Darcy, Tony and Bruce sat alone in the control room, which was positioned directly behind the bridge, slightly raised to give them a clear view of the open portal. To their left was the observation room. The room was very small, with an equally small window, and from where she was Darcy could only see Natasha Romanova and Melinda May standing side-by-side in the corner by a door that led into the airlocked chamber. If Clint was there, she couldn't see him. Across from the observation room, almost directly across from the place the portal would open, was another door, behind which Darcy knew Jane and Steve were waiting, along with Director Fury. They had all been fitted with coms, and Darcy was enjoying the chatter: Jane and Steve walking through the plan one last time, Fury checking that Natasha, May and Clint had clear visuals in the room. (So Clint was there. Darcy wondered where he was.)

The bridge worked. It worked! It opened, and it stayed open! And it didn't open into deep space. Darcy couldn't help laughing. "Jane, can you see this? It works!" Bruce smiled too, Tony frowned and concentrated on the control panels. Through her com, Darcy heard Jane laugh back at her. "I see it on the screen here. Let's see what the probe has to say, before we get too excited." There was light on the other side of the portal, although it was too blurry to make anything out, almost like looking through a waterfall. Darcy watched as Tony moved one of his robots to probe the portal, measurements showing an atmosphere that could support human life. The view sent back by the probe's camera was even more promising: two men, wearing bronze and leather armor and golden helmets, holding a spear in one hand and a round shield in the other. The decoration on the shields reminded her of the pattern in the Bifrost site and she giggled. They flanked a short table, on which sat an unassuming black box. She could guess what was in that box. Bruce grinned and nodded as he checked readings from the probe. "That is the Tesseract. We're in the right place, everyone. We've, uh, made contact." Darcy heard several sighs of relief through the com, Director Fury gave the okay, the airlock was opened, and Jane and Steve stepped into the room.

Darcy vaguely noticed that Steve looked really good. He was dressed in a darker version of his Captain uniform, with the shield on his back his only visible weapon, and his head was uncovered. She hadn't been included in any of their meetings, so she still hadn't met him, but she thought that if she ever needed a body guard, he'd be a good one to have. He looked strong, but not dangerous - not like he'd hurt anyone for fun, but like he'd do his best to protect you. His expression was serious, otherwise unreadable. Jane, on the other hand, looked nervous. She was dressed in regular clothes (well, khakis and a cotton button-up, so perhaps a bit nicer than her usual jeans and teeshirt), but she'd styled her hair and was even wearing a bit of makeup. Darcy smiled, and held her breath as they walked the short distance from the door to the opening of the portal. Jane clutched Steve's arm in one hand, and a bag in her other hand. Fury counted to three, and the two of them stepped through the portal together. After an agonizing ten seconds that felt more like a minute, a green flag was pushed through the portal, then pulled back in again. A collective sigh of relief filled the control room, and Darcy flipped the switch to close the portal. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In major league baseball, opening day is the first day of the regular season. This is Tony's way of saying that he's excited to get the gang back together. Obviously it's also a play on words: the day they are opening the portal.
> 
> I know it's usual in our stories for everyone to know everyone else, but I work in a library and I barely see anyone who doesn't work in my department. So I've modeled Stark Tower a bit on that: Darcy knows who the other employees are, but she don't really see them and they aren't her friends. It is likely this is going to change very soon for Darcy and the others, however :-)
> 
> I am still on [Tumblr](http://saintleoba.tumblr.com)! I still love comments and kudos! I promise to be a better person! :-D


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